


Black Hand- (draft version)

by Discombobulated_Hatstand



Category: K-pop, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: A whole lot of angst, Action, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Angst, Betrayal, Character Death, Crime, Drama, Emotionally and physically, F/M, Fake Character Death, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gang Violence, Gangs, Help, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Even Know, I can read that shit but no I can't write it, I don't plan for it to be a happy ending, I feel bad for the things I plan to write, I have no idea what I’m doing, I seem to keep going back and adding more, I'm Not Writing Smut, I'm Sorry, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Murder, Organized Crime, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Plot, Pls read these, Romance, Self-Esteem Issues, Suicide, Temporary Character Death, Violence, What Have I Done, Worth Re-Reading, a lot of confusion early on, a lot of people are going to get hurt, a lot of plot actually, at least one nct member idk if I'll add more, bts - Freeform, here have some angst, honestly I'm not very good, i'll let you know if I go back and add something in that's significant, if ya'll want to write smut scenes for it just dm me on tumblr or twitter k, it'd be shit and you know it, keep that in mind, kpop, mafia, maybe I'll get other people to write it for me if people want smut, namjin - Freeform, only heated romance with maybe implied stuff, or idk just deal with it, pls read the tags or things will get confusing, probably some gore, taekook, trash, wowwwww, yoonmin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:07:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 31,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24716557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Discombobulated_Hatstand/pseuds/Discombobulated_Hatstand
Summary: Three years after the death of his girlfriend, Jungkook is stuck in a boring desk job. After reconnecting with his friends and unintentionally interfering, he gets into a lot of shit he didn’t sign up for.Sometimes it's better to let go.Last update: Jan 22nd(this was a draft and I've started the rewrite, but this'll stick around for bad nostalgia_
Relationships: Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V, Jeon Jungkook/Original Female Character(s), Jhope can just be the ultimate wingman, Jhope is forever alone I'm sorry but my fav ships come first, Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin, Min Yoongi | Suga/Park Jimin
Comments: 7
Kudos: 14





	1. Before

**Author's Note:**

> Severely unedited my apologies I’m so tired but whoop.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jungkook wasn't sure when it was exactly that it had it started. Maybe it was when he had run away from Jimin that day. Maybe it was when he had agreed to go out to that bar with his friends. Maybe it was at the funeral, or even earlier, at the gala that had gone so horribly wrong. Or maybe, it had been when he had met his friends in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. I'm not really quite sure what I'm doing lol, since this is my first fic on this platform, but I do intend for it to be pretty long. I'll probably be going back throughout writing and change a couple things/make them longer, but I don't think it'll be anything significant, otherwise I'll probs put it in some notes somewhere. Anyway, pls enjoy my mediocre writing.

_It was a closed casket funeral._

The air had been bitter and cold with the weight of loss that day, only adding to the tension and sorrow already hanging in the air.

That one day, so painful that he had felt a dull stab in his chest and a strong ache in his throat which threatened to tear open his windpipe at any moment.

The wind had been vicious and sharp, stinging his eyes, making them water even more- making it that much harder to fight the tears back. It had whistled in his ears and blocked out any other noises; blocked any other voices that were thrumming distantly yet also extremely close at the same time, vague and unable to be grasped.

His jaw was clenched hard when he had walked across the perfectly manicured lawn to the bleak building, hoping that he looked more stoic than on the verge of tears.

_He could do this._

Jungkook had tried desperately to slow his ragged and uneven breathing as he had neared the building, his feet feeling heavier and stiffer with every step.

The viewing on the previous night had been hard enough, though with a considerably smaller audience. The casket remained closed then, too, but they wouldn't tell him why.  
  


He was there. 

He saw it.   
  


Jungkook had sucked in a deep breath when he pushed open the heavy door of the modern chapel. He had been early, though there were already people seated in the rows.   
He made his way to the front of the room, sitting in the front row, in the seat reserved just for him. Jungkook fixed his gaze on the wall, averting his eyes from the coffin resting only a few metres away. He closed his eyes, trying to steady his breath. 

Jungkook remembered people filing into the building as he had stared ahead, only pulling himself back to reality when people sat down next to him.

Sitting further across the row was her father, who sent a solemn nod his way.

_Shit._

Yeah, things had been crazy with her, even a little extreme, but shit, he never expected something like this to happen.

And it was all his fault.

If Jungkook hadn't been there, she wouldn't have felt the need to ensure his safety. She wouldn't have taken those risks and she would have gotten herself out of there. Like always, she put him before herself, but only this time, she was the one who got hurt.

Jungkook had inhaled sharply.

He was not going to fall apart. Not today. Not now. Not here.

The service began and Jungkook barely noticed. The Celebrant greeted the mass with a warm smile- fake, of course. Her voice faded into the background as Jungkook had zoned out.

_No._

Things were going to be ok.

_No._

There was a dull ringing in his ears, getting louder and louder as things seemed to pass quicker and quicker. He remembered less and less of this part.

_No._

There was relentless screaming in his ears.

_NO._

Jungkook had shut his eyes tightly. He really hadn’t been prepared for this. He took a deep breath in, steadying himself. Jungkook zoned out for the better part of the service, fists curled tightly in his lap. His memory was fuzzy, but from then, everything seemed to pass like a blur.

A hand had grabbed his shoulder, startling him, yet still seeming so gentle and distant.

"Hey. Are you ready to go yet? Almost everyone's gone."

Jimin.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, I guess so." The words had come out like an automated response he had rehearsed so many times.

Jungkook had looked around the room.

It was almost empty. The curtain in front of the coffin had been drawn once again.

The service was over.

Jimin helped Jungkook to his feet, speaking to him, but Jungkook hadn't heard. His mind was distant and clouded. He had let himself follow Jimin out of the chapel, his gaze losing focus and getting blurry.

"Jungkook."

He had looked up, seeing that Jimin was walking in the other direction.

"The car's this way."

|| • ||

Jimin ran his hand through his neat brown hair as the engine purred to life, sighing.

he had forgotten the whole car ride and it had only felt like a second, Jimin parking the car out front of Jungkook's apartment complex. Jungkook snapped back to attention upon hearing the handbrake being jerked back.

They had sat together quietly for a while before Jimin decided to break the silence.

"Listen, buddy," he had turned to Jungkook, one of his hands still resting in the wheel. "I know this has probably been harder for you than almost everyone else, but you gotta look forward. I know you'll need time, but when your head is clear, I'll still be here."

There was a certain detached, icy tone in his voice that Jungkook remembered clearly.

He reached over to open Jungkook's door for him. "When you're ready, call me, alright?" 

Jungkook had stepped out of the car, Jimin giving him a weak smile before he started the engine up again. He had watched as Jimin's Hyundai Grandeur merged into the steady stream of flashing brake lights and beeping horns.

Jungkook didn't remember getting the keys out for the building or pushing the button on the elevator for his floor, but only moments later, he had found himself unlocking his door and flicking the lights on in his modest apartment.

The lounge had been sparsely decorated then, with a couple of armchairs and a small T.V. That sat atop an empty old China cabinet.

Jungkook had walked down the narrow hall, stopping midway to lean against the wall, sighing. He had run his hand through his hair and stared blankly at the wall. He remembered having to force himself to move, flinging his tie off as he opened his bedroom door. Jungkook had found himself staring out the window at the city lights, a loud, glaring imitation of the quiet sky above.

Things were changing, and he wasn’t sure if he could keep up.

He had struggled to rip his gaze away from the stars that reminded him so very much of her eyes.

Wearily, he had turned to his bed, knowing that there would be a sleepless night ahead of him regardless. He sighed as he had collapsed onto the blankets, remaining still for a few more moments. Groaning, he reached to check his phone.

10:15 pm

The trip home had taken longer than Jungkook had thought. The venue had been a few hours out of the city, in a more quiet area.

Jungkook recalled tossed his phone to the side, kicking off his shoes before lying back on his bed, staring at the cracks in his ceiling.

"This was all my fucking fault." He had muttered to himself before turning on his side and flicking off the bedside lamp.

  
  


Jungkook wasn't sure when it was exactly that it had it started. Maybe it was when he had run away from Jimin that day. Maybe it was when he had agreed to go out to that bar with his friends. Maybe it was at the funeral, or even earlier, at the gala that had gone so horribly wrong. Or maybe, it had been when he had met his friends in the first place.

Whenever it was, Jungkook only felt a single thing for it: regret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blerghhh this is a really short chapter since it's just a small little bit at the start that's not even a chapter, but it's really just set three years before the story line and it's just basic exposition so don't worry bout it too much- it's not really meant to make much sense, but I hope i didn't write it too weird and confusing but whoop


	2. Part One-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Jungkook, please. We just want you to be your old self again and have fun."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jdjdjdkkdj so I wrote this ages ago- actually no, in feb I think- but I’m just going through all the old stuff and changing it/making it longer.  
> It's only the first part, so it's pretty short. I'm aiming to make them all over 3000 if i can, so I might be going back at some point and changing/adding to them. Nothing to significant though, just fleshing it out a bit more.
> 
> Severely unedited, I apologise.

_ 3 years later _

_  
"Fuck."_

  
Jungkook flailed his arm around wildly, lazily searching for his phone to turn the blaring morning alarm off. 

_6:00 am_

_Damn._

His eyes were red from lack of sleep, dreams of the funeral still lingering from the night before.

He couldn't help but think about it this time of year.

Aggressively tapping at the phone screen, he flicked his eyes over to the bedside table and over to the framed picture of a girl that sat there, gathering a thick layer of dust. Jungkook frowned and sat up, wiping the dust off of the picture frame, staring into it for a few moments before placing the worn frame back in between the stumpy candles that had almost all burnt down to nothing.

  
He showered and threw on a semi-formal outfit for work- a plain button-up shirt with a simple tie- before throwing on a coat for the early spring weather. He quickly made a smoothie, completely forsaking breakfast, and almost chugged the whole thing in the bottle in his haste to grab his keys and walk to the elevator. As the doors closed, he punched the button to the basement level residential car park, checking his watch 

_6:35 am_

Jungkook walked briskly through the chilly air, footsteps echoing as he made his way over to his car. He unlocked the door and slid into the left side of his Hyundai Avante, checking his reflection in the rear-view mirror, cursing himself for forgetting to brush his hair. He ran his hand through his dark hair in an attempt to neaten it as best he could as the engine ignited with a low rumble. 

A few years ago, Jungkook had been extended a job offer at Choi Finance Partners in the Yeoui-do District, only a couple of districts away from his apartment complex in Yangcheong-gu. He was given the opportunity by an acquaintance of his and Jimin's, who was an extremely wealthy man, and owner of the company, including all of its smaller branches in other districts.

Mr Choi was a very serious man, who had somehow made a fortune out of his chain of loan agencies based in Seoul, no doubt by taking advantage of the many customers, out-buying competition and being a relentless loan shark overall. Jungkook had never seen him without a thick pair of tinted glasses and a frown on. He spoke so little that if a recording of his voice was played back to Jungkook, he probably wouldn't be able to place it at all. It was all subtle nods and waves with Mr Choi, but Jungkook could tell that he meant well and had a good heart.

If you were involved with Mr Choi, even in the slightest, presentation meant everything. It was a sort of company policy that organisation, attitude and overall outlook appearance to the community was a major priority. Even though everyone spent the day cooped up in the office building, any clothing that could be considered remotely casual was prohibited and supervisors were usually quite strict on this. Looking good was almost more important than actually doing your job well.

Only several months before Jungkook had come to work at the company, Mr Choi had also given Jimin a job, and they worked together in the same department. The salary was more than decent, considering that they weren't very high on the corporate ladder. Jungkook only saw Mr Choi once or twice a year, if at all, but he did occasionally send someone in to check on the two of them.

Jungkook and Jimin both worked as Loan officers. Their job was to evaluate and authorise approval of loans for credit, real estate or business. The basic stuff. In short, it was a boring desk job, yet a stable one at that.

Jungkook followed the navigation system through Yeongdeungpo-gu, sighing quietly as he stared ahead at the road. While he left for work much earlier than he needed to, the traffic was still slow, making his daily commute that much more irritable. Looking ahead, the next district, and his destination, Yeoui-do, was not too far ahead at all

After around half an hour of slow traffic, he pulled his car into its usual spot- right next to Jimin's- and made his way into the building, checking his watch as he stepped through the automatic doors.

_7:07 am_

Jungkook gave a small smile at the secretary as he passed, scanning his key card for the elevator. He chewed at the inside of his cheek as he waited for the carriage to descend, stepping inside and punching in the button for his floor upon its arrival. He shifted his weight between his feet as he waited to reach his floor, luckily going all the way up without the carriage stopping.

The building also served as a base for many of Mr Choi's other businesses that he had on the side, while also providing some accommodation. The office Jungkook worked in was all the way up on the 13th floor.

Jungkook held his key card up to the sensor on the office door and heard it unlock with a dull _click_. Striding through the office, he sent small nods towards his coworkers that were here this early, passing rows of office cubicles as he made his way towards his own at the rear of the room, right next to the window. Sitting down in his creaky desk chair, Jungkook flicked through copies of loan applications as he fired up his computer, greeted with emails filled with even more requests and details. He shut his eyes and rubbed at his temples. He could tell this would be a long day.

***

Jungkook flinched when a hand rapped on the wall of his cubicle, lifting his eyes to see Jimin leaning there with a cup of coffee.

  
"Just a minute," Jungkook said flatly, continuing to type a response to an email.

"Hey. It's break time, come on." Jimin sat on the edge of Jungkook's desk, sliding the cup over to him.

  
Jungkook ignored him and continued to type, trying to politely explain and give details to a frustrating woman that she had to send her email to another one of the company’s departments, or at least let him forward it to someone else, as he only authorised her damn loan.

Jimin reached over and turned the computer off, making Jungkook turn to him with an 'are you serious?' look.

  
"Jungkook. Look at the time. You need a break. Come on." He said firmly, sliding the cup closer to him.

Jungkook checked his watch. He'd been working for over five hours.  
"But I need to finish some things first." He reasoned.

"Please. You're one of the fastest workers here, if not _the_ fastest. You're ahead of your work and you know it. Besides, it's a mandatory break, someone has to make sure you don't pass out back here." Jimin's voice was gentle yet unmoving and laced with genuine concern, eyes analysing him carefully.  
“You ate breakfast this time, right?”

Jungkook frowned sheepishly.  
“I didn’t have time. I had a smoothie, it’s fine.”

  
Jungkook took the coffee cup into his hands, sliding his chair back with his foot. He didn't drink the coffee. All he did was stare blankly into the black liquid, warming his hands with the mug.

  
Jimin sighed.  
"I know what that face means." Jimin crossed his arms over his chest.  
"You've been thinking about her again, haven't you?"

Jungkook looked up at his friend and gave a sad smile. Jimin could always read him.  
"Yeah."

"It's close to the anniversary again, isn't it?" He phrased it as a casual question, but it's not like he wasn't counting the days, too.

  
Jungkook could feel Jimin's eyes drilling into the side of his head while he simply nodded, staring back into the coffee once more.

Jimin let out a long exhale, turning his head to stare out of the office window. He bit his lip in consideration. He paused for a long time before he spoke again.

  
"How about I come over to your place later with some food? We can hang out if you want." When Jungkook remained silent, he continued.  
"Pizza? Come on, I know it's your favourite."

"I think that would be nice. Thank you." Jungkook smiled and began to drink his coffee.

"No problem. I'll see you after work." Jimin smiled back, before leaving Jungkook alone once again.

  
Jungkook looked into the bottom of the now empty cup, setting it aside to turn his computer back on again and continue his work where he left off.  
He sunk into his desk chair, groaning quietly to himself.

Of course.

It didn't save the damn email draft.

***

Only a few moments after Jungkook had shut his door and put his things down, he got a text.

Jimin.

_  
Jimin- Come downstairs and let me in._

  
Of course, Jimin didn't have the key card for the building, so his frequent, sometimes unannounced visits, could be quite inconvenient.

After a bit of scuffling, they both walked into the apartment with more than enough food for both of them.

Jimin set the pizza boxes out on the kitchen bench. He pulled up a stool and grabbed a slice, staring across at Jungkook as he talked in between mouthfuls.

  
"So... do you want to talk about it, or just have me here with you?" He kept his gaze on Jungkook, who was intently staring at his pizza slice, seeming like he wasn’t going to touch it any time soon.

"I'm not really sure..." His voice was toneless. "I mean, you knew her as well as I did, but I don't think there's anything left to say."

Jimin stopped eating. His eyes were locked on the floor.  
"Correction:" he lazily put his half-finished pizza slice down on the box.  
"I knew her better than you did." He raised his eyes to look right into Jungkook's.  
"And you're right. There really isn't anything left to say on the subject. But I will say this. I'm not going to let you mope around for the rest of your life because of Aera."

  
Something about Jimin saying her name made it seem so much more real to him.

  
"Jungkook, please. We just want you to be your old self again and have fun." His eyes looked tired and pained.

"We?" Jungkook looked up with his eyebrows furrowed.

"You know they've been asking about you. Tae, Jin, Hoseok. I mean, we've been trying to get you to hang out with us again for ages. But, I guess since you became such a shut-in, you don't have time for us anymore."

  
Jungkook couldn't remember the last time he had been with the rest of his friends. He had just been so focused on work, so he rejected all of their invitations.  
Days had turned into weeks, weeks into months, and before he knew it, it had been well over a year since they’d all been together.  
It seemed now to him, and apparently everyone else, that Jungkook’s life had been taken over by work at this point.

Jimin stood, shrugging on his jacket and picking up his keys.

  
"Look. I have to go meet someone in half an hour, but I thought you'd like to know that Taehyung says that you're welcome to hang out with us this Friday night. Only if you wanted, of course." He opened the door, standing there awkwardly for a bit, as if he mulling over his words. "Just... consider it, ok? And let me know if you're interested. I’ll text you the info later anyway, but it’s up to you if you turn up."

  
Jungkook didn't pay attention and barely heard the door slam shut, leaving the apartment quiet and cold. 

Maybe he would go.


	3. Part Two-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Up until then, Jungkook had been numb to the moment, but now he could feel his heart racing and his pulse pounding in his ears.

Jungkook looked at his reflection in the mirror. He hadn't seen Jimin for the rest of the week, who had probably been working out in another branch, as he often told Jungkook. Jungkook had always found that a little weird. He and Jimin practically had the same job, but Jimin was constantly being juggled between different locations and branches every other week. He didn’t envy him of course- it’d be a nightmare.  
He sighed. He really did have much more important things he could be doing on a Friday night, but here he was, picking up his keys on the way out of the door.

  
He spent the whole car trip in silent dread. Would they be surprised to see him? Would they be happy, or mad that he had left it so long? He drummed his finger erratically on the wheel in anxious impatience. What if they didn't actually want to see him at all, but had just invited him for the sake of being polite? Jungkook's mind was buzzing in every unhealthy way up until he parked the car and left it to find the low-key bar a couple of streets away. When he had found the bar at the end of a dimly lit street, he paused for a good few moments before finally pushing the door to the bar open and stepping inside.

The sound of clinking glasses broke the loud hum of his thoughts, the warmth and the smell of wood, alcohol and smoke filling the air, hitting him like a wall as he stepped no more than a foot inside the building.  
Jungkook scanned the room, his gaze being pulled to a strikingly familiar face.

He was deep in conversation as he flicked his eyes up, locking onto Jungkook's. A grin spread across his face as he excused himself, leaving his drink at the booth. As he made his way across the room, his uniquely silver hair shone in the lights.

  
"Jungkook! It's been so long!" Taehyung pulled him into a tight hug that smelled of cedar and musk.

  
Taehyung took a step back, scanning Jungkook's face and clothes. His face was lit up with a smile, yet his eyes had a certain sharp, calculating edge.

  
"You look tired." He observed, staring thoughtfully at Jungkook.

  
Taehyung had always had his future planned. While Jungkook had been debating what exactly he was going to do after college, Tae had already declared that he had a spot waiting for him in the "family business", and it seemed that business had treated him kindly over the past few years. 

He was dressed far too formally for a small get-together at a bar, making Jungkook feel slightly self-conscious about his own outfit. He had several rings decorating his fingers, and Jungkook could have sworn he saw a tattoo peeking out from his sleeve as he ruffled his hair.

"It's just work," Jungkook mumbled, running his hand through his hair as he cracked a smile.

"Well, that doesn't matter now. Come on," he beckoned Jungkook to follow, leading him through the maze of tables. "Jimin!" He called out as they neared a booth.

  
Jimin lifted his head, raising a brow when he saw Jungkook walking towards the booth with Taehyung.

"Well look who finally decided to accept our invitation. I didn't think you'd come." He took a sip from his drink, watching Jungkook over the rim of the glass.

Jungkook smiled. He didn't think he'd come, either.

  
"Well," Jimin set his glass down picking up his phone. "The others aren't here yet, but with you here, I'm sure they'll hurry." His fingers moved rapidly as he texted, leaning back in the booth.

  
He frowned at the screen when a notification popped up.

"Yoongi says he'll be late," He said drily, directing his words to Taehyung. "Some sort of "work emergency"." 

  
Taehyung nodded, turning to Jungkook with a smile.

  
"Do you want a drink before the others get here?"

***

They talked and laughed, Taehyung asking keenly exactly what Jungkook did for a job, despite the fact that Jimin had no doubt told him already.  
He feigned interest as Jungkook explained, picking at the cuffs of his sleeves, looking up when a new voice interrupted.

  
"So he wasn't joking! You really have joined the party!" A bright voice exclaimed with glee.

  
Hoseok, Namjoon and Jin had arrived, and after several tight hugs, they all squished into the booth, making six of them.

As they all caught up on the last few years- well, Jungkook caught up- he found that this was the happiest he had felt in a long time.

  
But happiness soon faded. Jungkook didn't know why. He was enjoying himself, but something seemed off.

  
”Are you ok, Jungkook?" Jimin was leaning forwards on the table, head in his hands. Everyone's eyes turned to Jungkook following Jimin's question.

"Yeah. I think I just need some fresh air, that's all." He smiled weakly, getting up from the table.

"Don't go too far.." Jimin playfully warned, tipping his head towards the door. 

"And don't keep us waiting too long, either," Jin added.

Stepping out into the cool, crisp night air, Jungkook paused for a second before he began walking. His feet had a mind of their own and he was going to follow them wherever they took him.   
He left the scents and the sounds of the bar behind, passing street after street, putting one foot after the other. He didn't know where he was going, but he had a sense of purpose that he couldn't shake.

Before long, he reached an area where cars were few and far between. The area seemed more empty and industrial, several storage-sheds littering the street amongst tall, dark buildings.  
Jungkook found himself turning down lane-ways and closed off streets, weaving in between buildings aimlessly.

He stopped.

He didn't know where he was anymore. 

To his left, an alleyway stretched into the dark, escaping the dim glow of a nearby streetlight. Glancing around, Jungkook redirected his feet down the grubby path, sticking his hands in his pockets for warmth.  
His footsteps echoed in the quiet, an uneasy feeling settling over the place. Jungkook paused, listening closely for what he thought were voices.

Nothing.

Jungkook kept going, picking up the pace. A second set of footsteps joined his, almost synchronised, but just detectable.

Before he could fully register it, a strong, yet gentle arm linked with his and kept walking alongside him.

"Don't look behind you, I'm being followed."

A quiet female voice whispered in his ear.

Sure enough, more sets of footsteps joined theirs in no hurry, and Jungkook forced himself to look forwards, averting his eyes from whoever was walking with him.  
The girl sharply turned a corner, ducking into another discreet alley, dragging Jungkook along in her wake.

He couldn't see her face, but an overwhelming, nostalgic smell of perfume washed over him as she led him through side-streets, navigating her way through the muted night.

She stopped abruptly at a street corner, hissing in agitation as she seemed to be waiting for something that wasn't there.  
She dragged Jungkook further until a black van pulled up beside the two of them.  
She let go of Jungkook's arm, instead squeezing his hand reassuringly.

  
"Sorry for dragging you into this." She said, sliding the door open and stepping inside, all the while hiding her face from him. "I'll see you later, Jungkook."

  
The van door slammed shut, and the vehicle promptly sped off into the night.

It was like some scene from an action movie that Jungkook really didn’t want to be in.

Up until then, Jungkook had been numb to the moment, but now he could feel his heart racing and his pulse pounding in his ears. He found himself reeling from the intense sense of déjà vu that had been dunked onto him like a bucket of cold water. He almost felt like he was going to throw up.

_What the fuck?_

He had heard that voice before. No. This wasn't right.

_What the fuck_

_What the fuck_

_What the fuck_

No. That couldn't be possible. 

Jungkook looked around hopelessly.

He was lost, and he was freaking out.

He didn't know where to go, what to do, or what to think.

It was Aera. He knew it.

_But she's dead._

He tried to reason with himself. It literally was not possible. 

Jungkook looked around in a panic, walking a few metres up the road before sinking to his knees on the pavement.

He had left his phone back at the bar.

No. It really wasn't her.

His heart sank. He had just hoped it was. Jungkook buried his head in his hands.

What the fuck was he going to do now?

A car horn blared, breaking the silence.

Out of the darkness, a sleek black BMW pulled up, stopping just in front of Jungkook. The passenger window slid down and the driver drawled with an all-too-familiar voice: 

"Get in." It said sharply. 

  
It was much more of an order than an invitation, so Jungkook was quick to comply.

***

"You know you're fucking lucky that I found you, right?" He spat, keeping his eyes trained on the road, on hand on the steering wheel. "Of all the places to take a midnight stroll, you end up in one of the shadiest areas in the district?" Yoongi clicked his tongue in exasperation.

"How... did you find me..?" Jungkook ventured, not wanting to further poke the agitated animal.

"Jimin said you'd run off somewhere and to look around for you since he was starting to get worried." He answered bluntly.

"No... I mean, how did you know I'd be here?"

Yoongi sighed deeply. 

"Lucky guess or something, and well, here I am."

  
He seemed to not want to say anything more on the subject, but Jungkook had an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

They spent the rest of the car trip in silence. The only thing that could be heard was Yoongi drumming his fingers on the wheel and occasionally cursing at other drivers.

When they got back to the bar, Yoongi placed a firm hand on Jungkook's shoulder, practically guiding him towards the door. When he reached for the handle, Yoongi stopped him, turning Jungkook to face him.

  
"Next time don't go and get yourself lost, ok? Especially not at this hour, in places like this. You don't know what sorts of people are waiting in the dark, and trust me, you don't want to know." It was not often that Yoongi voiced his concern, but within seconds, he had pushed Jungkook through the door and was steering him back to the booth.

  
Jimin and Taehyung were both sitting there and discussing things with quiet voices when they got to the table.

  
"How am I supposed to keep an eye on him when I hear he keeps running off and doing stupid shit like-

  
Taehyung nudged Jimin to get his attention. Before he locked onto Jungkook, his face had seemed agitated and even a little hostile, with an underlying layer of panic and worry. However, upon realising Jungkook was back, his face flickered and lit up with a smile.

  
"What happened to not going far, Jungkook? You had us worried!" His expression was playful but his eyes were harsh, his mischievous tone suddenly sharp as a blade.

"You really did have Jimin worried." Taehyung seemed mildly amused, sending a wink in his direction.

"Jungkook's finally back!" Jin sounded surprised. "Do you want another drink? Jimin's buying."

"I'm... not sure, guys. I think I'll head home." Jungkook scratched at the back of his neck, staring into the floorboards.

"Really?" Hoseok pouted. "But we haven't caught up in ages, we only just-

"No." Yoongi's toneless voice cut him off sharply. "If Jungkook doesn't feel up to it, he can leave." 

  
Jungkook looked up to see Yoongi looking straight at him with a knowing look.

  
"Right..." Jungkook trailed off. "I guess I'll see you guys again soon?" He gave a sheepish wave and walked towards the door.

  
His hand rested on the handle when he felt a nervous sense of dread creep up the back of his neck.  
He turned to find Jimin's eyes boring into his, his face remaining expressionless as Yoongi leaned over and whispered something in his ear, eyes shifting when he seemed to sense that Jungkook was watching.

Jimin nodded to Yoongi and flicked his hand towards him in some sort of gesture, before taking a seat back in the booth, his eyes never leaving Jungkook.

Jungkook hastily walked towards his car. He had no idea what the fuck had happened, and he needed some time to think things through.

***

Upon reaching his apartment building, Jungkook found that he was now constantly looking over his shoulder, on edge.

He bolted to the elevator and sprinted down the hallway to his room, fumbling with his keys as he unlocked the door.

Slamming the door shut, he breathed a sigh of relief, resting there for a few moments before deciding that he needed rest to recover from his ordeal.

He thought that it was probably the second most confusing and terrifying night he’d ever had, second only to the gala.  
He knew he probably should’ve mentioned something to Jimin or Yoongi about exactly what happened, but something told him that they’d only have gotten madder and freaked even more, and that they would never have let him hear the end of it.

But if he only looked outside his apartment window, he would have noticed the black BMW pull away from its watchful spot across the road, satisfied that he had made it home safe.


	4. Part Three-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Do you ever... think about the night Aera died?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I'm sorry, I've been trying new things to make chapters longer since they really are quite too short and I'm getting really distracted every time I try to write. fcgvhbjnkasfas I'm very sidetracked at the moment and my laptop is so shit- the keyboard is broken so I guess my hatred towards my laptop has translated into the angst in this chapter.

Jungkook leaned against the door for a few moments longer, scrunching his eyes shut tightly. His head throbbed as he realised that besides a glass of beer or two, he hadn't had anything to drink for the entire night and his throat suddenly seemed much drier than before.

Jungkook dragged himself from the front door all the way to the kitchen, dragging his steps all the way. He clicked his tongue in disappointment when he found that there wasn't anything in the fridge to drink, settling for a glass of room-temperature water.

Jungkook flicked on his bedroom lights, greeted with the mess he had left that morning. He set his glass down on the bedside table, right next to the down-turned picture frame that had sat there collecting dust for almost a week now. He turned to go to the bathroom and shower when his eyes froze over the picture frame for a second, making him stall mid-step. With a quiet sigh, Jungkook sat down on his bed, picking up the picture frame and dusting it off with his sleeve. It always seemed to get knocked over, no matter where he put it.

The girl in the picture wasn't looking at the camera, rather, she seemed to ignore it completely as she stared intently at the book in her lap. Her reading posture was terrible, causing her hair to fall down over the pages, yet she didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

He stared at the picture a moment longer before placing it back down on the table.

Maybe he'd skip the shower.

Jungkook let himself fall back onto the bed with a groan. He chewed at the inside of his cheek as he stared up at the ceiling and let himself drift into a haze halfway between sleeping and waking.

||-||

Jungkook didn't know how long he had been lying there, and he only noticed that light had crept into his room when his phone started ringing next to him. Startled, he flailed around to find the phone he had discarded by his side the night before, only to knock it to the ground. He dove after it and ended up landing on the ground very uncomfortably when he tapped the screen to answer it.

"Hello?" He cleared his throat in an attempt to mask his raspy voice.

_"Jungkook! Did I wake you?"_

Technically, Jimin hadn't woken Jungkook, but that was because Jungkook had actually not slept at all the previous night. No matter how hard he tried, all he could do was stare at the dark ceiling, his mind buzzing far too much for him to get a moment of quiet.

"No. Not at all. But, why are you calling this early?"

 _"You left the party so soon last night, I only wanted to make sure you were okay. Besides... it's really not that early..."_ His voice was laced with sugar and amusement to the point where Jungkook could practically hear him smiling smugly into the phone

Jungkook moved the phone from his ear to check the screen. Jimin was right, it was already 10:23.

_Oh._

_"Is it that you've overslept? I can call back later if now is inconvenient..."_

"No, no! It's fine! _I'm_ fine! I didn't realise how late it was, that's all." Jungkook ran into the bathroom, phone in hand as he quickly turned the shower on and began to shrug off his clothes from the night before.

_"Ah. Well, I only called because I happened to be in the area, and wondered if you'd let me treat you to lunch? Take it as an apology for last night..."_

"An apology? What for?"

 _"Ah... I noticed that you looked uncomfortable with the whole situation, and it seemed like something was bothering you. I guess it was my fault for pressuring you into showing up, I realise that it was a bit insensitive..."_ Jimin sounded sheepish on the other end of the phone, like he was admitting to accidentally breaking a dish, or making a mess.

Last night, it had seemed like it was _Jimin_ who was bothered, so Jungkook really didn't see what he was apologising for.

"Oh. You didn't pressure me, I wanted to come. And I'd be happy to go out for lunch if you're offering. How far away are you?"

_"Hm. The traffic is a little slow, so maybe around 10-20 minutes?"_

That was enough time for Jungkook.

After chatting back and forth for a while longer, Jungkook ended the call and rushed to get ready.

Since he had let the shower run, the bathroom had become hazy with the steam and the mirror had fogged up. Jungkook had showered quickly, checking the time on his phone as he roughly dried his hair with a towel and almost aggressively brushed his teeth.

He jogged toward the kitchen and poured out a cup of coffee, only to spit it back out into the sink upon realising that coffee and toothpaste was not a good mix. He was rinsing his mouth with water, trying to get rid of the bitter taste, when his phone buzzed on the bench.

_Jimin- I'm only a street away. Do you want to go to that café a few blocks away?_

Jungkook fumbled with his phone and typed a response.

_ Sounds great. _

Jungkook pulled on one of the numerous crumpled coats he left strewn about the apartment and made a dash for the door, racing down the hall to meet Jimin at the building's driveway.

The elevator ride had seemed much too long to Jungkook, who was constantly checking his phone for the time- and for any new texts from Jimin.

But it seemed like he timed it fairly well, for as soon as he stepped out from the building's foyer, he spotted Jimin's Hyundai Grandeur pulling into the complex's driveway.

The car pulled up right next to Jungkook and he slid into the passenger seat with ease, greeted by Jimin's smile and the blaring radio.

||-||

The traffic really was slow and it seemed to have gotten worse after the car pulled out from the driveway. Jimin hummed along to the music as he drove, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for the traffic to move.

Jungkook stared at the traffic for a while before he decided to break the silence with something that had been in the back of his mind for quite some time.

  
"Hey, um, Jimin?"

  
Jimin hummed in response as he kept his eyes on the road, turning down the radio to listen to Jungkook.

  
"Do you ever... think about the night Aera died?" Jungkook snuck a glance at Jimin, noticing that his relaxed expression faltered for a moment.

"I try not to." His mouth flattened into a tight line. "Why?"

"I just... looking back on it, the whole thing just seemed weird."

"How so?" He raised a brow in interest.

"I don't know, really. It just kinda feels strange how in a situation like that, everyone had seemed so prepared."

"I guess so? I mean, the whole event really was a perfect target for terrorism if you ask me. It would be strange if they hadn't taken any precautions."

"You think?"

"I mean, an important wealthy family throws a fancy fundraising gala, and expects it to go perfectly without any issues? Of course they took precautions and had trained security,"

"Right. Yeah, when you put it like that, I guess it makes sense."

  
The two remained in silence before Jungkook started again.

  
"I... I just feel like it was..." Jungkook trailed off, but Jimin knew exactly what he had meant.

  
Jimin's expression hardened. He had heard this line time and time again.

  
"What? Do you feel like it was all your fault? Please Jungkook, don't start talking like this again."

  
Jungkook remained quiet for a moment, staring down at his feet as Jimin continued.

  
"Please, you're being ridiculous."

" _I'm not._ " Jungkook paused before continuing. "I'm not being ridiculous, and I'm not going to drop it. I won't."

  
Jimin gave him a pained look briefly before turning his eyes back to the road, almost seeming like he didn't know what to say.

 _  
"Come on_ , Jungkook, you have to start looking forward and stop looking back! The world is moving on, all you have to do is choose to move with it." Jimin was sounding exasperated now, slowly becoming agitated.

"Yeah? Well, it seems like I'm the only one who even cares."

" _Please,_ don't say that. You know it's not like that." Jimin's knuckles grew white as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

" _Really?_ Well, Excuse me for not forgetting about her as quickly as the rest of you did."

" _Forgetting about her?_ Jungkook, what the fuck? Moving on and carrying on with your life is not forgetting about her."

  
Jungkook turned his head away from Jimin and stared out the window, mumbling so quietly that Jimin almost didn't hear.

  
"...That's easy for you to say, you never even cared about her..."

  
If Jungkook had been looking, his blood would've run cold from the murderous look Jimin fixed the road with, his muscles rigid as he turned the car's indicator on.

Jungkook didn't think much of it at first, but after the car turned down a different street, he looked back at Jimin, because this was _not_ the way to the café.

Jimin has turned down a rather empty street, remaining silent as he continued driving for a little while longer before pulling into a random driveway, his eyes icy. His fingers twitched on the steering wheel as he brought the car to a stop, parking it in the empty area.

He turned to Jungkook, staring him straight in the eyes.

  
"Jungkook." His tone was firm and lacked warmth, sending a shiver down Jungkook's spine.

  
Jungkook looked away, full of shame and regret.

  
"I'm... not hungry anymore." He said quietly.

It was true. He had lost his appetite.

Jungkook coughed awkwardly, sneaking a glance back at Jimin to see he still fixed him with that same frozen look.

  
"I'm sorry."

  
Jungkook knew Jimin didn't believe that, but nonetheless, he swept his eyes away from Jungkook and looked out his own window.

  
Quietly, yet coldly he spoke, " If you're not hungry, then I'll take you back home."

  
Yet for some reason, whether it be the way Jimin had looked at him, or because he suddenly turned into a deserted street, Jungkook no longer felt comfortable nor exactly safe with Jimin in the car, a cold shadow resting over his heart.

  
"No... it's fine. I'll go back myself. Sorry for ruining lunch."

  
Jungkook reached to open the door, freezing in his tracks when Jimin called out.

  
"Jungkook."

  
Yet Jungkook only lingered for a brief moment, hurriedly hopping out of the car and slamming the door shut, starting down the street at a fast pace, eyes stinging from the chilly air as he felt a sharp twinge in his chest.

Jimin didn't move to stop him. He only sat in the car, and when Jungkook looked back, he locked onto that cold stare in the car's rear-view mirror. It was the same stare Jimin had given him when he left the bar the night before, and it unnerved him just as much as then, if not more.

He turned around and continued walking, but he could still feel that stare on the back of his head like he was some target about to be shot through by an arrow.

Jungkook quickened his pace, rather jogging than walking now, before breaking into a full out run as soon as he turned the corner, not daring to look back.

Jungkook didn't know where he was running, but the only place he wanted to go was away.

His breathing was shaky as he made his way through the streets, only stopping when his stomach lurched, feeling multiple buzzes come from his pocket.

And as expected, his phone was blowing up with messages.


	5. Part Four-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems that there was one person he could call on.

His phone buzzed again and again, refusing to let him catch his breath. Jungkook ducked into a doorway. With shaky hands, Jungkook pulled his phone out of his pocket and felt his stomach flip. His paranoia was rearing its head like an ugly shadow.

All at once, messages swarmed in, and suddenly, the feeling that he wasn't safe rushed back up into his throat again.

_  
Taehyung- Hey Jungkookie, where are you. Are you ok?_

_Hoseok- Jungkook are you ok? Jimin said you ran off on your own, do you need us to come get you? We can talk to him for you, he’s not mad._

_Yoongi- Jungkook where are you? You gotta stop running off without telling someone, it’s not safe._

_Namjoon- Hey, do you need me to come get you? Where are you?_

  
Jungkook's confusion and dread grew when his eyes suddenly swept over the last string of texts.

_  
Jimin- Jungkook, please come back to the car, it's cold and I'm not letting you walk home alone._

_Where are you?_

_Come back._

_Where did you go?_

_Please._

_I’m really sorry._

_I’m not mad I promise._

_If you want talk to me then at least talk to them_

  
Jungkook sank to the ground and he rested his head in his hands.

_What the fuck?_

Suddenly, nowhere felt safe to him.

Jungkook's phone buzzed several more times. He weakly raised his hand to look at the new wave of messages, but none of them were reassuring or even calmed him in the slightest.

_  
Taehyung- Jungkook please, where are you? I’ll come get you, just tell me where._

_Hoseok- Where are you??_

_Yoongi- Where are you._

_Namjoon- Where are you? Jimin’s getting worried again._

  
Jungkook didn't know what to do. He wasn't going back to his apartment. No way. He had rarely ever seen Jimin mad, and he was extremely pissed. Jimin had been visiting Jungkook at his apartment at least once a week for over a couple of years now. The receptionist had taken more than a liking to him on the many occasions that he was waiting by the elevator for Jungkook, and she had given him the spare key before.

No. Maybe he was overreacting (which he totally was but he was panicking, so give him a break). He was being ridiculous, just as Jimin had said. The best thing to do would be to go and find Jimin, apologise, and hope he would still give him a ride home.

No, that didn't feel right either.

He felt like anything he decided would be wrong.

Everything was weird. Jungkook reassured himself. There was no way this was nothing; he wasn't overreacting over nothing.

Jungkook started walking again. He didn't know where he was going, but he was going to keep going until he knew where he was. But, the further he walked, the more he began to think twice about all those messages that he had gotten. The area he was walking in was definitely not one he knew, nor one that he felt safe in. Maybe he should have answered those texts. Now he didn't even know where the fuck he was, so he couldn't even tell them his location if he wanted to. His phone was almost dead, and a sinking feeling came when he remembered that he had only recently deleted the navigation app on his phone to save space and install games.

The sound of cars had never disappeared of course, so Jungkook followed it until he came to a busy road. A warm spark flashed in his chest when he realised he was only a street or two away from the café he and Jimin intended on having lunch at!

That warm feeling quickly faded, however. Jimin was probably looking for him nearby and he really didn’t want to deal with him right now, so he kept his head down as he walked down the street swiftly.

  
" "you never even cared about her" Fuck, what was I saying?" Jungkook muttered to himself quietly as he kept his head lowered.

  
He felt a small pang of guilt in his chest, thinking back to the venomous words he had thrown at Jimin. 

He had known Jungkook was feeling especially down over the last couple of weeks and had only done his best to distract him from everything, and though some of his words were also insensitive, he had only had the best intentions from the beginning...

Jungkook really couldn't bear to face him at the moment, nor any of his other friends, who Jimin had no doubt dispatched to track him down.

Jungkook stopped walking in the middle of the street.

_Not all of his friends._

Jungkook checked his phone once more, and sure enough, none of the frantic messages had been from Seokjin.

Last night, when they were all together, Jungkook had asked if anything had changed for them since the last time they had all got together. He remembered Jin's bright response as clear as a bell. _"Same clothes, same house, same job, same me."_

Jungkook cracked a small smile.

It seems that there was one person he could call on.

||-||

Jungkook walked for a while longer before he hailed a taxi, giving the driver an address

Jin lived in an apartment one of the neighbouring districts- Guro-gu district. He had lived in the same apartment since they had all been in university and he didn't seem like he wanted to move out any time soon.

It hadn't taken long before they were close to the building. Jungkook subconsciously thanked past-Jungkook for thinking practically and shoving some money into the pocket of his coat's before he had walked out the door that morning.

When they reached the small apartment building, Jungkook thanked the driver, handing over the cash before he bolted out of the car and into the building. 

He took the stairs up to the fourth floor. Apparently, no one saw the need to install an elevator during the construction of the building, but thankfully, it wasn't too tall anyway.  
Jungkook walked down the hall, counting the doors until he reached number 14. He went to knock, before realising that he hadn't even texted Seokjin to let him know he was coming. Jungkook's mouth dried up instantly. 

Originally, he had thought that if he texted, he might tell the others where he was or something along those lines, but upon his arrival, he realised just how rude and presumptuous he was being. He didn’t even know if Seokjin would be home.

Jungkook was glued to the spot, his hand hovering in front of the door. Everything he had thought to say, such as an explanation as to why he was showing up at Jin's door had all died in his throat, and he was beginning to think that this might have been his poorest decision of the day.

He hovered by the door in contemplation for only a while longer, before it seemed he discarded his plan and turned to leave.

Before he had even walked three steps back down the hall, he heard the door creak open behind him, and a surprised voice spoke softly.

  
"Jungkookie? I thought I heard someone... What are you doing here?" He sounded genuinely surprised and slightly concerned.

  
Jungkook pivoted on the spot to face Jin, clearing his throat.

  
"Ah. I was just..." he rubbed at the back of his head, looking extremely pitiful

"Come in, come in! Don't just stand out there all day." Jin gestured for him to follow him through the door

  
So Jungkook followed him in and shamefully recounted the day's events as he stared into the cup of coffee Jin had prepared for him.

  
"You said... that... to him?" Jin's face paled slightly as he leaned against the kitchen table. "No wonder he got like that..."

  
Jungkook silently agreed. 

Looking around, Jin's apartment seemed even more sparsely decorated than the last time he was there. It almost felt like it was hardly ever lived in.

  
"Ah well... You can stay here as long as you like. After all, I've missed having you around." Jin smiled warmly. "But you do look tired... I have an extra mattress somewhere, but I'm afraid that I decided to do properly clean things out just earlier, and all of the spare bed sheets are in the wash... do you think that just for tonight you would be alright with the couch...?"

Jungkook smiled "That's really more than enough, thank you. I'm sure you think the whole thing is ridiculous, but I don't know... I just haven't been able to think straight."

"No..." Jin looked down into his cup thoughtfully. "I guess I can understand why you've been so bothered by this. If all you need is someone to listen, I'm always here."

  
This comforted Jungkook to a degree, but he still felt ashamed that he had just thrown logic completely out the window and kicked into flight mode. He was sure that him being there was an inconvenience at least, but he knew that Jin was far too polite and wouldn't want him to feel like that.

||-||

Jungkook stayed with Jin for a total of four days, and on the third, the sporadic messages finally stopped and all was quiet. Over the few days, he had gotten about a hundred concerned texts from Taehyung, and a significantly lower number from all of the others. Jungkook scrolled through the notifications on his phone, not daring to open a single one. His tactic of ignoring them seemed to indeed stop them.

Things were quiet for those four days. Jungkook had never really known what Jin's job was. Sometimes he went out to run errands, or he worked on his laptop all day.

On the second day of his stay, Jin had offered to go and collect Jungkook's laptop for him. He hadn't run into Jimin or any of the others; perhaps Jungkook had just been way too paranoid. Jungkook worked from Jin's house on his laptop and got through the days with multiple cups of coffee and home-cooked meals that Jin insisted that he ate.

On the fourth night, Jin had come back to the apartment late and seemed preoccupied with his thoughts. he sat down on the couch opposite from Jungkook, flicking his laptop open for a second before putting it to the side and reaching for his phone. his fingers hovered over it for a few moments and he bit his lip in contemplation, flitting his eyes in Jungkook's direction for a split second, before seeming to calm down as he stood up and set his phone down on the table.

Jin sighed "I know it's late, but if you haven't eaten already, I can still make something?"

Jungkook nodded, watching Jin as he smiled and walked over to the kitchen. Jungkook felt that something was off, but he couldn't pinpoint what.

While Jin was in the kitchen, His phone buzzed on the coffee table. Out of reflex, Jungkook glanced over for a fraction of a second, but it was long enough to see something that made his hair stand on end.

_  
Jimin- Thanks, we'll be over in a few minutes._

  
He wanted to curse. So he was selling him out.  
Jungkook cautiously looked toward the kitchen, where Jin was calmly preparing dinner. He hadn't noticed that he had gotten a message, nor did he notice that Jungkook had noticed. He seemed distracted, and his eyebrows were furrowed slightly.

"Sorry, this might take a while." He glanced up, smiling at Jungkook, looking towards the clock before he went back to chopping the vegetables.

Jungkook realised what he was doing.

He was stalling.

Jungkook felt his mouth go dry.

he hadn't expected this.

Jungkook stood up stiffly and mumbled something about getting some fresh air. Jin hummed in response, focusing on the task at hand.

Jungkook opened the door to the balcony and stood out in the cold night air. He definitely didn't feel hungry now. Furthermore, what he had thought was a place he could let his guard down and sort his shit out no longer felt so. He probably should have expected this. Jin had probably gotten a text too, and he was probably only worried about Jungkook's well-being.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He really was being ridiculous. Everyone knew that he was having a hard time, and he had only panicked and kicked dirt at them when they spared time to check up on him. He had ruined what would've been a nice day with Jimin and disappeared on everyone who was no doubt just trying to be there for him, for the second time, too. Jin had probably decided that what Jungkook was doing wasn't healthy, which it most certainly was not, and had decided to text Jimin.

Jimin.

He actually was probably worried. Jungkook had run off in the middle of the city and he didn't know where he had gone. he wasn't answering anyone's texts and wasn't coming back to his apartment, so no wonder Jin decided to text him. When he looked at it from Jimin’s perspective, he could see the very reasonable cause for concern.

Despite all this, Jungkook had decided that he definitely didn't want to see them.

He couldn't leave the apartment with Jin in the kitchen and Jimin was sure to be there any minute now, the others likely with him.

Jungkook paced around for a few minutes, weighing up his options- all of which were terrible in his eyes.

He could try and jump down to the balcony below. It was yet another stupid decision, but he didn't want to be here one more minute. He looked down to the street and his heart raced ever so slightly more.

Two cars had pulled up on the side of the road, one of them recognisable as Jimin's black Hyundai Grandeur. the doors of said cars opened and five people emerged, sticking their hands in their pockets for warmth. Jimin was on the phone- Jin, he presumed.

Jungkook only glanced back into the apartment to lock eyes with Jin, who had stopped cooking and was indeed on the phone.

_Nopedy nope nope._

Jungkook looked down at the balcony below and decided that it was somehow better than the alternative. He looked towards the cars and saw that all five pairs of eyes were firmly staring at him. Jimin nudged at Namjoon and Hoseok, who followed him into the building, while Yoongi and Taehyung continued to stare up at him for a while, arms folded, before they seemed to have followed.

Jungkook swallowed drily, chills running down his spine. Well. It was now, or never. He lifted himself over the railing before crouching down and lowering himself down. Thank fuck he had fantastic upper body strength. It turns out that going to the gym to sweat out his emotions every day or so was a great idea after all. He swung a few times before letting go and landing down on the balcony, stumbling a bit from the landing.

So far, so good.

If there was one thing Jungkook was good at, it was running away from his problems, whether it be physical or metaphorical.

There were two more drops before he would reach the ground, but he would rather find a different way, as this was in no way good for his ankles.

He glanced to the side and saw the landing for the fire escape wasn't too far of a jump away, a ladder hanging down from the platform. He tilted his head to listen, but it seemed the five hadn't reached Jin's apartment yet, for he didn't hear any voices.

He turned his attention back to jumping across to the fire exit, grimacing at the thought. When he stood on the outside of the railing, he could almost reach across to it with his legs. He sprung forward and snatched at the railing, barely latching on.

Jungkook let out a breath of relief and almost laughed to himself. This had definitely not been what he expected to be doing on a Tuesday night. he hoisted his body over the railing and didn't waste any time using the ladder to get down in a much quicker- and safer- way.

At the bottom of the ladder, he dropped down into the bushes and caught his breath for a few moments. He held his breath when he heard Jin's balcony door open three floors above.

  
"Jungkook?" Jimin's voice called out. It sounded tired

  
Jungkook kept quiet, not daring to move and make a sound.

  
"For _fuck's_ sake, we just saw him up here." Jimin spat, and Jungkook could see his shadow when he looked up.

"He wouldn't have jumped?" Namjoon joined him on the balcony and peered over the railing and down into the bushes, which caused Jungkook’s heart to skip a beat.

"He might've... I wasn't paying attention." Jin's voice sounded a little shaky.

"Of course he did." Jimin leaned over the railing. "Whatever, we just have to find him before he runs off again. I can't believe this kid." Jimin groaned.

"Let's hope he's not hurt... We only came to take him home, what's with him?" Hoseok's voice rang out clearly from above.

  
Jungkook didn't stay to hear any more. He was going to just go home, ignore them for a few days and pretend this never happened.  
Soundlessly, he crept along the side of the building, sticking close to the wall. He didn't take his eyes off of Jin's balcony the entire time, walking backwards on the side path when he was far enough away. He continued to walk backwards, about to pick up the pace when he bumped into something solid.

A pair of hands grabbed his wrists and pinned them against his back. Jungkook was about to swivel his head and yell out when one of the hands let go and moved to cover his mouth. He could feel someone's breath on his neck as they leaned in to whisper in his ears.

  
" _Fuck_ , calm down Jungkook, it's me." if the distinct smell of cedar and the rings on the hand that muffled his yell didn't give it away, the voice certainly did. Jungkook didn't need to look behind him to know it was Taehyung.

  
Taehyung removed the hand from his mouth and placed it firmly on his shoulder. With one hand restraining his wrists and the other holding his shoulder in a vice-like grip, Jungkook was securely locked in place.

  
"What the fuck are you doing? Yoongi said you might do some dumb shit like jump from the balcony, so we decided to stay down here and keep an eye out." Taehyung clicked his tongue in exasperation and began steering him down the path around the back of the building, not loosening his grip once.

  
Jungkook didn't say anything but turned his head over to look at Taehyung, who was staring straight ahead. he opened his mouth to say something when Taehyung tightened the grip on his shoulders, rings digging in slightly.

  
"Please don’t try yelling out or I'll cover your mouth again. Honestly, what’d be the point, anyway? It's late, and I'm sure we're both tired."

  
Taehyung certainly looked tired. Bruised circles could be seen under his eyes and his tan skin seemed a bit paler than usual.

  
"You really have to stop making a habit out of running off like that. Jimin was really worried. We all were." Jungkook was still staring at him when he suddenly looked into his eyes, his voice a little softer.  
"Why didn't you answer our texts?"

  
Jungkook could only look away, embarrassed.

Taehyung sighed, gently dragging him around another corner to the front of the building, where Yoongi stood leaning against the wall. He walked over and placed a hand on his other shoulder and the three walked over to Jimin's car, Yoongi using his free hand to open the door. Taehyung lightly pushed him into the passenger seat and slammed the door behind him, Jungkook hearing a crisp _click_ as Yoongi locked him in the car.

Jungkook had been in this seat a few days ago, but now the car seemed much colder. Taehyung leaned against the side of the car, while Yoongi stood a few feet away, a phone pressed to his ear. He said a few words Jungkook couldn't hear before ending the call. Yoongi's eyes had a layer of frost to them as he looked at Jungkook through the window. He looked equally as worn down as Taehyung, but it was hard to tell if it was because of Jungkook, or if it was just because he was always tired. After he put his phone back in his pocket, Yoongi moved back to lean on the wall again, tugging at a lip piercing with his teeth.

Only a few minutes later, the building's doors opened and the other three walked out. Namjoon was carrying Jungkook's laptop and various other belongings he had Jin bring over. Hoseok smiled at Jungkook as he walked to the car behind and got into the driver's seat. The car unlocked and Namjoon opened the door to place Jungkook's things in the back, smiling at Jungkook as he did so, then he left and got into the other car. Taehyung and Yoongi followed after him, and it seemed Jimin was the only one who was going to ride in the car with him, which made Jungkook more anxious than ever. As he made his way to the car, Jimin's expression was cold and hard but softened slightly as he saw Jungkook through the window.

Jimin looked like shit. The circles around his eyes were darker than ever, his hair a mess, shirt crumpled and untucked, the sleeves pulled up to his elbows. Jungkook averted his eyes, looking down at his feet as Jimin opened the door on the driver's side.

Jungkook realised that he must have looked rather small and pitiful with his hands in his lap and his eyes glued on his feet, for Jimin looked over at him multiple times, opening his mouth as if to say something, as if to reprimand him at least, but no words came out.

Jimin's arms were slack and his grip on the wheel was loose the entire car trip. He wasn't going to say anything, and neither was Jungkook. After a while, Jungkook realised that they weren't going in the right direction for either his or Jimin's apartments in Yangcheong-gu. They had gone right past the area and were instead about to drive over the Han River. Jungkook looked at Jimin with uncertainty and mild confusion. Jimin wasn't looking at him and his expression remained the same as they drove over the river.

  
"Jimin... where are we going?"

"Home." His voice was flat and his answer was short.

"I thought your apartment was in Yangcheong-gu...?"

"I don't live there anymore."

"Oh..." Jungkook turned to look out the window and watched the lights as they passed familiar places on the north half of the city.

  
They passed much higher buildings and after a while, he figured out which district they were in from the landmarks. They had passed through Mapo-gu and were continuing north-east. They continued the trip in the same fashion, Jungkook asking the occasional question to make small talk that was usually more than natural, and Jimin giving a short and sometimes sharp answer, or sometimes not answering at all.

Jungkook found that throughout the car trip, the several days of barely sleeping out of ridiculous paranoia were finally catching up to him. He felt himself becoming drowsier the longer they sat through traffic, the city lights becoming blurred every time he let his eyelids slip a little too far down.

Jimin would look across at him every now and then, the ice in his eyes long gone, now only tinted with a little worry, seeing how Jungkook was about to fall asleep any minute now, and he wondered how much sleep he had gotten in the last four days since he had seen him last.

And fall asleep he did. It only took a few more minutes of driving before Jungkook let his eyes close completely, slumped in the passenger seat snugly.

Jimin sighed quietly when he realised that Jungkook had finally fallen asleep. He reached over and pushed a stray lock of hair away from his face, letting his gaze rest on Jungkook for a few moments before the traffic lights turned green and things started moving forwards once more.


	6. Part Five-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> there ain't really any pivotal lines in the chapter so idk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I really went on a spree with the first five chapters since I had most of them already written from a few months ago and all I did was copy them over- so updates will start getting slower but I aim to have one done every two days and maybe I'll be in the mood to do more. I apologise if I take longer but unless I have a lot of stuff going on, the longest wait for a chapter shall be around a week.  
> I sorta abandoned this idea months ago before I came back to it and reworked it so this time i'm determined to finish it, y'know.

Jungkook felt real fuckin weird when he woke up. He vaguely remembered falling asleep at some point the previous night, but everything else was just a little hazy. He didn't even know where he was.  
Jungkook sat up in the bed he had been lying in. The plush queen-sized sheets were so warm, so it was really quite a struggle to tear himself from the bed. He crossed the dark room and walked towards the window, where the curtains where tightly drawn, light peeking out from the sides. Jungkook scrunched his eyes as he drew the curtains and warm light flooded into the large bedroom. He stood in the warm sun for a few moments, wriggling his toes through the expensive-feeling carpet, before he opened his eyes and adjusted to the light, taking in the view.

To his surprise, the room was situated high above most of the city skyline and Jungkook wouldn't be shocked if it was far off from a penthouse suite. He could see so much of the city, and could vaguely make out the area where Yangcheong-gu was, across the Han River.

Jungkook stared out at the view and quietly wondered where Jimin would have found the money to live in a high-end residential building like this, considering that to his knowledge, he and Jimin had almost equal pay at their jobs. Jimin had said they were going "Home", after all, so he wondered whether this was his room, or if his apartment had rooms to spare.  
Jungkook glanced around the room and found that it looked fairly lived in. He frowned. So he really was taking Jimin's room. Where was Jimin? Surely he wasn't sleeping on the couch.

Jungkook located an ensuite bathroom to the side of the room, finding that his bag had been set down on the counter and his clothes from last night had been washed and folded next to it. Oh. Jungkook only then noticed that presumably Jimin had changed him into his pajamas. He didn't mind, since he and Jimin had been quite close for most of their lives now. Jungkook looked at his reflection in the mirror and realised how unkempt he looked. He hadn't showered for a few days now, come to think of it, and he was sure Jimin wouldn't mind if he used his shower for a few minutes.

The room was filled with steam and the mirror had fogged up completely by the time Jungkook emerged from the bathroom in fresh clothes. His phone had been left with his bag, so he checked the time.

_11:04_

Jungkook widened his eyes. It hadn't been that late when they had left Jin's, had it? He supposed that not sleeping for a few days would've stretched what he had intended to be a quick nap much longer. He stuffed the phone into his back pocket and made his way towards the bedroom door, quietly opening it a fraction and tentatively poking his head out of the door.

The apartment was quiet, so Jungkook quietly walked down the hall and into a large kitchen and lounge area. He cold see the outline of a body under a thin blanket across the leather couch on the other side of the room, and his heart twinged a little at the sight.

So Jimin had taken the couch after all.

Jungkook took a few steps towards the couch, intending to meekly check if Jimin was awake or not, but he stopped himself halfway, feeling that something was out of place.

The figure seemed to have much too broad a frame and was considerably taller than Jimin was. Jungkook didn't think he was in Jimin's apartment.

He neared the couch and peeked over the edge, staring down at the sleeping figure.

He wasn't sure whether it was because he had been loud and had woken up the person on the couch, or if the person had simply been pretending to sleep when Jungkook entered the room, but the figure rolled onto their back under the blanket, which slipped down from their head and left Jungkook looking down awkwardly into a large pair of tired eyes that were half-hidden under a messy silver fringe.

  
"You're awake." Taehyung mumbled in a cracked voice, staring up into Jungkook's eyes.

"This is your apartment, then?" Jungkook asked, despite the answer being obvious.

"Well yeah, it is. Why?"

"I thought it was Jimin's.." Jungkook averted his eyes from Taehyung's and glanced around the room properly, thinking that it was very much not Jimin's style, now that he thought about it.

  
Taehyung hummed, lifting his body up into a sitting position on the couch as he stretched out his limbs

  
"Spoke to Jimin- he and I both thought you might not want to stay in his apartment, so he left you here for the night." Taehyung's voice was lazy and he didn't even try to stifle a yawn as he got to his feet and cracked his neck.  
"You want breakfast?"

  
Jungkook looked up, slightly surprised at the offer, though he didn't really know why.

  
"Um- Yeah, sure, thanks."

  
Taehyung smiled comfortably and strode over to the kitchen, brushing his fringe out of his eyes habitually as he looked through the cupboards, chewing at his lip absentmindedly.

Jungkook leant against the kitchen counter and watched him, picking at the cuffs of his sleeves.

  
"Ah- I don't usually eat breakfast that much." He fumbled in the fridge, pulling out various plastic containers. "I have leftovers...? No, I'm not sure how old these are." He frowned, lifting the lid of a container and sniffing the contents before throwing it back into the fridge dismissively. He looked across at Jungkook, who was still leaning against the counter, sending him an apologetic look.  
"I can go out and get something if you want? Or we could go out for breakfast? Or I guess we could go and bother the others." 

  
Taehyung mumbled the last bit and Jungkook almost didn't hear it, but he stiffened up at the mention of the others.

  
"What, are they nearby? Wouldn't it be inconvenient to bother them for something like breakfast?"

Taehyung smiled and laughed. " No, not at all. I can just go next door and bang on Jimin's door if we really can't find anything to eat."

" _Next door?!_ " Jungkook's eyes widened and Taehyung only grinned wider at his reaction

Taehyung clicked his tongue in a mockery of exasperation. "Jimin didn't tell you? Damn, what a friend he is. we were all under the assumption you knew, otherwise we would have mentioned it the other week."

  
Jungkook raised a brow, prompting him to keep going

  
"We all live here, in the building. Jimin and Yoongi are in the apartments next door and Jin, Namjoon and Hoseok are one floor down."

Jungkook's eyes widened further. "I thought Jin lived in his apartment in Guro-gu?"

Taehyung bit his lip and stared off to the side "Well he does- did, is more accurate, actually. He would stay there sometimes depending on where work put him and he only just decided to permanently move out of there a few days ago."

"What, so you all just decided to move here and buy fancy apartments right next to each other?"

"Yeah- sure, I guess so. I mean, it's pretty fun." Taehyung turned to stare outside of the window and he seemed to go quiet for a few moments before breaking into a smile  
"So how about it? Do you want to go cheat a breakfast out of the others?"

  
||*||

  
Taehyung had led Jungkook down the hallway, down two doors before stopping and knocking on the door before opening it, as if barging into his friend's apartments was an everyday sort of thing, which, knowing Taehyung, probably was.

The room was extremely dark and smelt faintly of smoke and dust, curtains all shut and lights all out. Taehyung moved across the room and flung the curtains open, letting light spill into the room that was very unkempt.  
Clothes were strewn about on the floor and draped across furniture, every free surface either filled with clutter and rubbish or coated in layer upon layer of thick dust.

  
"Hyunggggggggg" Taehyung called out into the apartment as he took the initiative to start searching through the kitchen cupboards "You have guests who are hungry, come out."

  
Jungkook heard a door down the hall open and loud grumbling made its way down to the kitchen.  
Yoongi was dressed in a loose jumper and a pair of sweatpants. Despite it now being well past noon, it seemed like he had only just woken up.

  
"You know I don't care if you eat my food-" He yawned "-But you don't have to be so loud when you do it."  
He had a bitter look on his face, but he didn't really seem too annoyed with Taehyung.

  
Taehyung sent him the worst excuse for an apologetic face, continuing to pilfer through the kitchen relentlessly. Yoongi walked over and rested his elbows an the kitchen counter, almost acting as if Jungkook wasn't just standing there awkwardly. Jungkook shifted on his feet uncomfortably for a few seconds longer before Yoongi looked over and rolled his eyes, gesturing for him to pull up a stool and sit down at the counter. Taehyung grabbed out practically anything that could be eaten as a breakfast and lay it out on the counter-top, staring down at it for a moment with a frown.

  
"You really don't have that much either, huh?" He scratched at the back of his neck and looked to Yoongi, who responded with a small shrug.

"I don't eat it. I only keep it for you, anyway." He rubbed at his eyes, stifling another yawn.

Taehyung put a hand over his heart and smiled warmly "Awwww, well I appreciate the sentiment but there's nothing here for Jungkookie-" He turned and began looking through the cupboards again "-but I suppose you could just buy him something later."

Yoongi seemed very much awake now "Me? I'm not taking him out later."

Taehyung turned and frowned "Didn't we discuss it yesterday? I'm busy today, so you're hanging out with Jungkook? Everyone besides you is busy, actually.."

"Nope- nuh uh, I'm not getting stuck with babysitting him."

"I mean, I really don't need babysitting guys, I can just go home-" Jungkook mumbled but no one seemed to hear him, so he sat quietly, sipping from the cup of banana milk Taehyung had poured for him whilst he had been searching for food.

"Oh come on, hyung, you're never busy. Jungkook wouldn't even bother you." Taehyung whined, leaning on the counter in front of Yoongi.

"Actually- believe it or not, I had _plans_ today.." He griped, looking off to the side with a sour expression

  
Jungkook looked up from his drink and was slightly startled to see that Jimin had walked into the room from who-knows-where, sitting down next to Yoongi. He was wearing loose pajamas and an equally tired expression, raising his eyebrow at the commotion as he settled into his chair.

  
"Can't he just look after himself?" Jimin sounded surprisingly chipper despite how tired and dishevelled he looked, glancing over in Jungkook's direction briefly.

  
Jungkook silently thanked Jimin for intervening. He fidgeted in his seat slightly now that everyone was looking over at him. Taehyung and Yoongi looked between Jungkook and themselves, wrinkling their noses before stating in unison:

  
"No."

  
Jungkook frowned, looking down at his empty cup. _Well ok then._

Jimin fleetingly flicked his eyes past Yoongi "I thought you cancelled your plans last night, anyway? Couldn't you watch him for a few hours?"

  
Yoongi stared at Jimin and frowned "Now that you mention it, I suppose I could.."

"Well then-" Jimin picked up an apple from the fruit bowl "We don't have a problem then, do we?" He punctuated it with a crisp bite from the apple before getting to his feet and trailing out of the apartment,

  
Taehyung beamed at Yoongi, who only frowned in response as he kept his eyes fixed on the door Jimin left out of.

  
||*||

  
After Taehyung had left, Yoongi had almost immediately shut the curtains once more and flopped down onto a messy pile of blankets on top of what Jungkook thought might have been the couch. Yoongi had told him that he would be here if he needed him, and to go and bother Namjoon downstairs or something.

  
"He usually works from his apartment, I'm not sure, Just go and knock on the third door down the hall." He mumbled, face half-buried in blanket.

  
So Jungkook had taken the elevator down, and was standing outside of what he hoped was Namjoon's door. He knocked on the door politely and waited for a response, unlike Taehyung had earlier. It didn't take too long for the door to be opened, and Jungkook found that Namjoon was the first person he had seen so far today who was fully awake _and_ properly dressed.


	7. Part Six-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Damn."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi. so. um... i had written a couple thousand words on this chapter... but then I logged back onto my computer and it had all been deleted, so, like the reasonable person I am, I went and cried about it for a few days before attempting to make it again. Really sad about it, it was going pretty good... anyway, this should have been out days ago I'm so sorry my gosh. I'm just sitting here eating chocolate chips to stay motivated smh what's wrong with me.  
> reeeeeee as I write this i can feel how inferior it is to the previous version I can only remember one line from it smh.
> 
> hey also stay gold is a bop, i've been jamming to it and wow, I love the semitones going up in the chorus just asfgfhjk-
> 
> hahaha do you know what's funny. came back to finish writing this when I started again and I've deleted another bit by mistake there is no god- it was only a description of an elevator or whatever but fucking hell I hate everything. My drafts are dying it's not fair. also, for the sake of being thorough, I really did go and check the shoe sizes so don't @ me.

When Namjoon opened the door, Jungkook only then realised how strange he might've looked.

That morning, he had forgotten to put on his shoes, and he had only realised when he took the elevator down to the next floor, toes feeling hecka weird against the elevator's smooth tiles. He had quickly made his way to the third door down the hall, feeling thankful that there weren't that many apartments on the higher floors, lowering the chances of anyone other than his friends seeing him with no shoes and messy hair. So when he knocked on the door, he felt a small flicker of panic, hoping that Namjoon would either overlook it, or not think that it was odd in the slightest.

Namjoon had a slightly amused look on his face, no doubt in response to Jungkook's appearance, who in comparison, looked like some homeless brat. Namjoon wore a pressed white button-up with a stiff collar and dark trousers, matched with a proper looking pair of leather shoes, which reminded Jungkook of the type that elderly people wore. Yoongi said that he worked from the apartment most days, but Jungkook frowned, thinking he looked much more like he was going to an important meeting. Namjoon beckoned for him to come inside and Jungkook waddled after him like an awkward penguin, feeling more like one with each second that passed.

After around an hour of hanging around Namjoon while he worked from his computer, Jungkook still had no idea what he actually did, but from what he gleaned, he seemed to be a team leader of sorts. He had told Jungkook that he worked in imports amongst other things, but it more so seemed that he was an unofficial overseer of most things in whatever company he worked for. All he seemed to do for the entire time that Jungkook was there was reply to and send various emails that were confusing and vague at times, from what Jungkook had seen, but Namjoon had seemed to understand every word perfectly, rapidly typing and sending responses effortlessly. After a while, Jungkook got bored of asking questions and watching him work, so Namjoon had left him to his own devices and Jungkook had found a television show he quite enjoyed, settling down on the couch for quite a bit longer.

Not long after, Namjoon made a noise of disapproval from behind his desk on the other side of the room, Jungkook glancing up from his spot at the sound.

  
  
" _Hm._ " Namjoon frowned at the computer screen, fingers travelling over the keyboard faster than ever, mouse clicking rapidly before he abruptly stood from his desk, locking eyes with Jungkook across the room.  
"Hey, uh-" He leaned down to click with the mouse before straightening up again. "Something came up... I sorta have to... go into the office... like, right now."

  
  
Jungkook followed him with his eyes as he crossed the apartment swiftly and shrugged on a coat that was equally as formal looking as the rest of his outfit.

  
  
"I really don't mind if you stay here, just don't make a mess. Jin and Hoseok's rooms are just down to the left, so if you get bored you can go bother them- actually, I'm not sure if they're around..." He paused for a second, looking around the room as if he had forgotten something. " Just lock the door if you decide to leave..." His eyes noticeably brightened when he looked to the kitchen table and saw his keys and phone laying there, and he moved back across the room to shove them into his pockets. "I probably won't be long anyway.

  
  
Jungkook gave him a thumbs up as he opened the door, muttering a "see ya" as he shut it tightly behind him. He sat there for a few moments before he decided that he would leave after all. Even though he was good friends with Namjoon, he still didn't really feel all that comfortable with being in his apartment while he wasn't home.

Jungkook had gotten the feeling at this point that he would be volleyed between his friends for the entirety of the day. When he left Namjoon's he turned left, towards the two door he had passed earlier. He wasn't sure which door belonged to Jin or Hoseok, but he supposed it was a roulette in which he didn't mind either of the outcomes. He glanced between the two doors for a little, before deciding on the one closer to Namjoon's.

Before he knocked however, he made an effort to flatten his hair. He couldn't very well do anything about the no shoes issue, since he was sure that Taehyung's apartment was now locked, but the least he could do was make himself look a little bit more presentable when he turned up at Namjoon's door.

Jungkook had to wait a little while longer for the door to open this time, muffled scuffling audible from behind the door. After a few moments, the door cracked open, revealing that the room belonged to Jin. Jin stood there for a moment, muttering something along the lines of _"This is familiar"_ , to which Jungkook awkwardly grimaced, before brightening his smile as he looked at Jungkook.

  
"What the others kicked you out already? I didn't think you'd turn up here that quickly."

  
Jungkook laughed dryly in response. Of course, Jin had been expecting him.

  
"Ah- they were busy, I guess." Jungkook rubbed at the back of his neck and stared at the hallway carpet. He heard a bit of shuffling and only looked up when he heard Jin's voice, realising that he was no longer leaning against the door frame.

"You are coming in, right? Please don't just stand out there."

  
  
Jungkook snapped back to his senses and followed Jin into the room. When he looked around, the first thing he noticed was that it was much cleaner and brighter than both Yoongi _and_ Namjoon's apartments. While Namjoon's was very clean and tidy, every surface in Yoongi's apartment seemed to have an inch-thick layer of dust coating it, making Jungkook wonder if he had ever actually cleaned it. Jin's apartment, however, seemed to outshine even Namjoon and Taehyung's apartments. Literally. Every surface seemed polished and wiped, not a single speck of dust or a stain in sight. The curtains had been drawn all the way back to let in as much light as possible, and to Jungkook, the apartment seemed very welcoming.

Jungkook had shut the door behind him when he entered. Jin was in the kitchen, washing a few dishes and setting them down onto the drying rack, sparkling clean. The two made small talk while he did so, expertly navigating the conversation as to avoid the topic of the last time Jungkook was in one of Jin's apartments. Jungkook had expected him to chastise him for his irrational behaviour then, yet it seemed that he could perfectly understand and that he didn't really want to encroach on the subject either.

When he had finished, Jin took Jungkook to the lounge area and they both sat down together, Jin sitting in a comfortable looking armchair opposite the couch, flicking open the lid of his laptop. Jin had work he needed to do, so Jungkook didn't expect he'd be welcome for long before he was shunted to someone else's apartment.

Despite being "busy", Jin did make quite the effort to keep up a casual conversation with Jungkook, and they had chatted for at least half an hour together before another familiar scenario occurred.

mid-conversation, Jin dragged his eyes to his computer screen and clicked his tongue in annoyance.

  
"Damn."

  
Jungkook could take a guess at what was going to happen here

  
"You have to leave, right?" He confidently guessed, leaning back into the leather couch.

"Well, yeah, but..." Jin gnawed on his bottom lip in contemplation for a few seconds before looking between his laptop and Jungkook a few times.

"But....?" Jungkook raised a brow at this, thinking that Jin was trying to think of the nicest way to tell him to get lost.

"But..." Jin continued "I'm only going out to run some errands, and I mean, an extra pair of hands would be helpful..." He looked up at Jungkook "Only if you're interested, of course. I'll buy you a late lunch, my treat?"

  
It was roughly around quarter-past Two now, so by the time they would probably be finished, a late lunch did seem like an appropriate term for it, he supposed.

  
"Yeah sure, beats hanging around the building." He stood and stretched out his arms, hearing the joints crack quietly.

  
Jin grinned, slamming the laptop lid shut and tossing it carelessly beside him onto the armchair. Jungkook stood to follow him, when the feeling of his bare feet against the plush rug gave him a stark reminder of the no shoes issue. Seeing the slight grimace on his face, Jin seemed to remember too, saying reassuringly:

  
"We both have the same shoe size, right? You can borrow some of mine, it's no problem."

  
So, a few minutes later, Jungkook followed Jin out of the apartment, now wearing a pair of shoes that practically fit him perfectly. They passed what Jungkook was now sure was Hoseok's apartment and waited for the elevator to reach their floor. When the door slid open, the two smoothly stepped into the carriage, Jin pressing the button for the basement level. Jungkook hadn't seen much of the building, but judging from the apartments, the elevator and the height of the building alone, it was far out of his budget. The building had around 40 floors, the elevator ride taking roughly half a minute, but that was long enough for Jungkook to fully take in the details of the elevator to further base his assumptions of the building.

The walls of the carriage were half panelled with smooth dark wood, the other half polished mirror that didn't have a single smudge. where the two intersected, a long metal bar ran along the interior of the carriage, which Jungkook found he had to grab onto for support when he was caught off guard by the carriage's slight jolt. The floor was made up of a pattern of dark tiles that were surprisingly hardly scuffed, still sleek enough for Jungkook to clearly see his own reflection. It was pretty fancy for an elevator, Jungkook thought; though, this was only comparing it to ones he'd used in the past, and he didn't exactly go to any fancy buildings.

He and Jin made small talk all the way down to the basement floor, mostly Jin jokingly apologising for selling Jungkook out to the others only a day ago. Jungkook honestly didn't mind and in no way held it against him, since he himself was now rather embarrassed of his irrational and plain fucking stupid actions the day before.

When the elevator stopped and the two walked out into the cold basement car park, Jungkook let Jin take the lead, following him across the echoing expanse. He was surprised when Jin led him to a black van- a Ford Transit- since it didn't seem like a Jin-like car at all. Jin hummed a tune as he opened the driver's side and climbed in, not waiting for Jungkook to get in before he started the engine. As soon as Jungkook was in the car with his seat belt buckled (because safety first yo), Jin drove out of the underground car park and out onto the busy street.

As they drove down the street, Jungkook turned around in his chair to get a proper look at the building they had left from. It looked extremely fancy and it was indeed tall, yet it seemed to fit in with the other buildings around it, giving Jungkook the impression that they were at least in one of the wealthier districts. After a while longer of driving, Jungkook discerned that they were in Jongno-gu. Jungkook didn't know what "running errands" entailed, but apparently it paid enough for Jin to afford an apartment here.

  
"Hey, so... weren't you studying medicine? What's your job anyway?" Jungkook clearly remembered that his friend had been aspiring to be a doctor when they were in University, so he genuinely was a little confused as to why his friend now drove a van and did stuff like "running errands"

"Ah... Yeah, I was. I actually did work part-time in a hospital for around two years... but I guess I got bored of it...? The job I had on the side sorta became more important, so I sorta stopped being a doctor... I sill go in to work there if they need me though, it's just not a priority." He held one hand on the steering wheel and used the other to rake through his dark hair before continuing. "And I guess I sorta have a few jobs, just the same employer? It's a little hard to explain, so you'll have to excuse me when I say it's basically either doing this, working from my laptop or getting sent out with a few others.."

  
Jungkook couldn't tell if he was more confused or less, but he definitely had no fewer questions than before.

They spent the most of the trip speaking in the same manner, discussing boring, mundane things that would normally have Jungkook falling asleep, but somehow Jin made it seem interesting and engaging nonetheless. After they had been driving for around 15 minutes, Jin got back onto the topic of what they were going out for.

  
"I need to pick up something from a guy called Hwang. I'll get you to stay in the car for this one; he isn't a very pleasant man to deal with." Jin had an obvious tone of disdain when he said this, eyes narrowing slightly.

  
It took them about ten more minutes before they got to their destination, Jin parking the van in the gravelly yard of a large warehouse, where there were few other cars. Jungkook watched Jin as he walked across the yard, over to the men who leaned against the walls like that was what they were paid to do, one of them smiling familiarly at Jin. Jin waited outside for a few minutes before a man came out of the building. He beamed at Jin, who returned what looked more like a grimace. They spoke for a few minutes and the man lit a cigarette as Jin spoke. The man who Jungkook assumed was Hwang seemed to have noticed him in the car, for he gestured over at Jungkook a couple of times and seemed to laugh, nudging Jin with his elbow, who politely smiled. Jungkook wasn't sure why, but the man, though friendly, seemed to put him off a bit. A little while later, Jin returned to the car. He opened the doors in the back, the men who had been loitering by the doors now walking over, carrying crates between them. Once Jin had gotten back into the driver's seat, he wasted no time leaving the warehouse yard and getting back onto the busy roads. He gave a dry laugh and shook his head.

  
"Fucking Hwang,"

Jungkook looked over, curious to know what made the man so bad. "What'd he say?"

"On top of his usual arrogance, he wanted to have you."

"Have me?" Jungkook furrowed his brow.

"Yeah. Thought you were working for me. Said you looked like a good worker, something about wanting to steal you before I worked you into the ground."

  
  
Jungkook felt a weird pit in his stomach. He didn't like Hwang.

  
  
"Phrased it like you were some piece of meat. Needless to say, I politely told him to fuck off and that you were only with me for today." Jin's grip tightened on the steering wheel. "He's one of the people I wish I didn't have to see as often."

  
Jungkook silently agreed. They drove across the city for a while longer, picking up big and small things. Once they were at their 5th stop, Jungkook got tired of waiting in the car and took up Jin's offer of going over to the building with him.

  
"This guy's pretty good. Name's Ahn. I usually see him once or twice every month or so." Jin spoke in his ear when they made their way towards the building.

  
Jungkook stuck his hands in his pockets to combat the chilly spring air, nodding along to what Jin was saying. Ahn seemed very friendly and Jungkook felt comfortable around him. The man seemed to be constantly smiling, showing off a set of perfectly straight, pearly teeth that Jungkook was sure were fake as hell. He spoke to Jin like he was a close nephew, seeming surprised that Jungkook was with him.

  
"You've got a helper, Kim? I didn't know the boss was hiring more guys like him." Ahn beamed at Jungkook, who returned the comfortable smile.

"This is Jungkook. I'm afraid he's only my helper for this afternoon, unfortunately. He doesn't work for the boss, he's just a friend, so don't get any ideas about borrowing him."

  
Ahn laughed warmly. He pat Jin on the back heavily, resting a hand on his shoulder.

  
"While he's here, he can help carry a few things, yeah? It'll be quicker that way."

  
And so Jungkook and a few other men carried over a few crates to put into the back of the van as Jin and Ahn stood to the side, Ahn making jibes at how Jin 'better be paying him well' since he was such 'a strong and sturdy young man'. after 20 minutes, their business with Ahn was finished.

When they were back in the van, it was finally time for that late lunch that Jin had promised. before he started the engine however, Jin's phone buzzed. He picked it up, and when he read what was on the screen, he groaned loudly.

  
"What? You do all of this work with me, and then when I take you out for food as thanks, I find out that someone already had dibs on that?"

  
Jungkook raised a brow, since this was news to him. Jin clicked his tongue in disappointment. 

  
"Well, I guess I owe you lunch for another day then, huh?"


	8. Part Seven-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> haha who can actually write a summary without giving shit away- I struggled to make one for the entire story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahaha I've made my writing longer, but in a way that this is the third chapter for a single day- I'm not sure if that's better than just having really long chapters and updating this less frequently, but idk I like to stay busy. Decided to start watching Hwarang but it's really inconvenient that I'm nowhere near fluent in Korean so I can't watch that and write at the same time, but I guess I'll just settle for music instead, been bopping to skz a lot recently. Also, I noticed on the last chapter it said I updated it on the 25th but I accidentally set it to that? idk but i uploaded it on the 27th so I'll hopefully finish this chapter today, but i mean, I'm starting it pretty late so if it says 29th, you'll know I've failed as a person, and that I've relocated this story and myself to the dumpster, feel free to stop by for some unnecessary opinions on ships that will no doubt be controversial haha, here have some writing. also have some memes that I will now be putting at the start of every chapter according to my mood lol. also I'm going away for a day or so so I'll either do two chapters tonight or try my darn best to do it from my phone but oh well worst case scenario no chapters for a few days. ha, last time I said that it was longer than that. hrnghhh i'm listening to the prologue mix of butterfly- my hEART

"Excuse me what now."   
  


  
"I'm saying that you'll still get your free lunch, but not from me."

 _”Well who is giving me my free lunch? This is very important information that I would very much like to know"_ Jungkook leaned forwards in the passenger seat, staring at Jin.

"What, so you didn't know either? I thought you were just trying to scam two lunches from us..."

Jungkook shook his head rapidly " _No._ No I did not know about this. Who is it Jin? Tell me, _tell me._ " Jungkook tapped his foot impatiently. He didn't really mind who was buying him his food, but he still felt the need to know.

When the van stopped at a set of lights, Jin looked over to him with a smug smile. "Seeing as you seem so interested in this, I'm just going to not tell you."

"Jin- _Jin please._ " 

  
But Jin had decided to stop listening, turning the radio volume up to drown out Jungkook's cries as the van started moving again. They drove for 20 minutes, Jungkook pouting out the window the window the whole way, especially when they passed the restaurant that Jin was supposed to take him to. Jungkook stared at it out the window with a sad pout, slumping in his chair in defeat. He recognised that they were driving back in the direction of Jongno-gu, and he wondered if they were stopping back at the apartments first, or if they were meeting whichever person it was there. But they didn't go back to the apartment complex. No, Jin drove right past it and down a few more streets, before parking the car across the street from a small looking café.

  
"Well, you kids have fun, I'm going back to the apartments, but text me if you guys need a lift."

 _"Jin who is giving me my free food?"_ Jungkook undid his seat belt, but remained in the passenger seat.

Jin smiled. "I have no idea, Jungkookie. Now get out of my car before I kick you out."

  
Jungkook sulked as he slammed the car door behind him, watching Jin drive away, who waved out the side of the window as he merged with the steady stream of traffic once more.

A few minutes later he had crossed the street and was standing outside of the café, leaning against the wall. He had spammed Jin's phone with messages at this point a few of which were along the lines of: "Hey so how about you tell me now." and " Remember that you still owe me lunch, too.". infuriatingly enough, Jin had left him on read, otherwise completely ignoring his texts. Jungkook had his head bent over the phone and was furiously typing, not paying enough attention to see a flash of silver in his peripherals.

A hand ruffled his hair, causing Jungkook to nearly drop his phone is surprise. He looked up from his phone and through his now messy hair to see that like a parcel, he had been handed between his friends all day and had now been returned to the sender: Taehyung.

Taehyung gave him a boxy grin, running his hand through his own hair to neaten it.

  
"Hi."

"I really should have expected this." Jungkook scowled, sticking his phone in his back pocket "Who do you think you are, making me cancel my other lunch plans?"

Taehyung pouted. "I felt bad that you never got breakfast, and I knew Yoongi wouldn't give you anything. Besides, I had to go through so much effort to even figure out where you had gone- I texted Yoongi, who said you were with Namjoon, who then told me that he had _left you by yourself_ in the apartment and wasn't sure where you had gone, then I tried Jimin and Hobi before I texted Jin and he told me you were helping him!" He spoke so fast that Jungkook had trouble following along with what was his own day, going through everything in his head.

"Well this can't be called a breakfast anymore anyway."

"Yeah, but there's nothing better than brunch at 3:41 in the afternoon."

  
Jungkook flattened his mouth into a line, not even bothering to refute that. 

The two walked into the café, Taehyung holding the door open for Jungkook. The café was small but lively, one of the only free tables being a booth towards the back. They sat and talked over the loud chatter, about work, amongst other things, and Taehyung thought it would be a great time to bring up how Jungkook had fully passed out in Jimin's car the other night.

  
"I literally had to carry you into the building. You're heavier than you look." Taehyung took a sip of the iced drink he had ordered, playing with the straw.

Jungkook could feel that he was tinged red and he grimaced at the comment. "Yeah- I don't usually do that."

Taehyung sharply raised his eyebrow "Really? Jimin says he always finds you asleep at your desk."

"Well Jimin is a fucking liar." Jungkook made a mental note to kick Jimin when he saw him next and decided to keep a steadier supply of coffee when he went to work.

  
Taehyung let out a bubbly laugh, clearly not buying it. Jungkook felt a pressing urge to change the subject before he found out if Jimin had told Taehyung about anything else embarrassing.

  
"I thought you had work today?"

Taehyung frowned a little " I finished early. I don't really like my job that much, always puts me in a bad mood, so I do my best to finish things quickly." He stared into his cup for a few seconds before brightening again. "But, it pays, so I put up with it."

  
They finished their drinks and on the way out, Taehyung insisted that he bought Jungkook about one of every baked good the café sold, as compensation for his cancelled lunch with Jin, as well as a substitute for his breakfast. They walked down the busy street for about a block or two, Jungkook eating various pastries from the paper bag he held. There was way too much food, so he made Taehyung reluctantly eat a few things too, shoving a slice of cake into his hands over his protests of buying them just for Jungkook.

Taehyung reached into his pockets and fished out his car keys. He clicked the remote button and the lights on a BMW a few metres ahead flashed. He popped open the car door, flicking his head for Jungkook to follow. Jungkook put his half eaten pastry back into the paper bag, dusting off his shirt to make sure he wouldn't get any crumbs in the car.

  
"It's fine. I don't mind if you eat in it, I get it cleaned pretty regularly."

  
Jungkook gave him an incredulous look. "I'm not going to leave sugar and crumbs all over your car." He climbed into the passenger seat, balancing the paper bag on his lap.

  
Taehyung responded to this by reaching over and taking the bag out of his hands, pulling out a particularly crumbly pastry and taking a messy bite, scattering crumbs all through his clothes and the car's leather interior. Jungkook winced at this, deciding that now that it was wrecked, he may as well finish eating his food in the car. The drive back to the apartment complex didn't even take ten minutes and they were just beating the rush in traffic before everyone finished their work shifts.

As they had been driving, Taehyung had practically pointed at every second store, insisting that they still had time and that they should go shopping. Jungkook had told him as politely as he could that he was broke af and couldn’t be bothered, to which Taehyung instantly replied with a “Don’t worry, I’ll pay for you.”  
Needless to say, Jungkook declined.

When they got out of the car, Jungkook made a beeline to the elevator, clutching his bag of food tightly in fear that Taehyung would eat everything in it, who had clearly abandoned the idea of leaving them all for Jungkook as he tried to snatch the bag. Jungkook spent the entire elevator ride hoarding his food, shooting Taehyung a sour look if he so much as moved in Jungkook's direction.

For dinner, Taehyung dragged Jungkook down to Jin's apartment, where almost everyone was, with the exception of Jimin and Yoongi. When they walked in the door, Jungkook could smell food cooking and he made a mad dash to the kitchen, since the only thing he had consumed the whole day had been coffee and desserts. Jin and Namjoon were in the kitchen, Jin looking like he was about to faint as he watched the way Namjoon chopped onions.

  
" _nO- oh my god what the hell- stop."_

Namjoon put down the knife and threw his hands up "ok- I give up." Jin slapped him on the shoulder.

"I've never seen someone mess up cutting onions that badly." He sighed. "I'll just do it."

  
Namjoon stood to the side and let Jin take over, looking utterly defeated. He pouted as he watched Jin prepare the food with much more ease than he ever could have.  
Hobi laughed, sitting to the side on a kitchen stool. When Jungkook and Taehyung walked in, he looked up and smiled brightly.

  
"Jin, you've got more mouths to feed."

Jin didn't even look up as he quickly chopped the onions. "Of course I do."

  
Jungkook and Taehyung took a seat besides Hoseok, Namjoon joining them not too long after as they all left the cooking to Jin, who was honestly the only capable chef in the room. It didn't seem like Yoongi or Jimin were going to show up, but that didn't stop the rest of them enjoying themselves. Jungkook's pastries had well and truly been ravished within minutes, despite Jin chastising them for not waiting until after dinner.

When Jin finished cooking, they didn't bother moving to the dining table, instead all crowding around the kitchen bench to eat everything. Jin practically fed Jungkook all of his food, who had little objection to this, as all of his food had been free today.  
With the exception of Jungkook, they all decided that he was to stay another day before they let him go home, since they didn't know when they'd see him next, seeing as he was always so busy and seemed to have little time for his friends.

As Jungkook sat there listening to their enthusiastic chatter, he realised just how much he had missed this. Being in a room filled with laughter and warmth was nice. Being with his friends and enjoying himself was nice.

After dinner, Jungkook and Taehyung wished the others a good night and took what little remains there were of Jungkook's desserts and went back to Taehyung's apartment. When they were inside, they both decided that they would turn in for the night and Jungkook went to move towards the couch when Taehyung stopped him.

  
"Guests don't sleep on the couch, that's where I sleep."

Jungkook turned to frown at Taehyung. "I'm not taking your bed again, it's got germs." He feigned a look of disgust as Taehyung rolled his eyes at him.

"Well, I'm not letting you sleep on the couch, it's cold."

  
After a while of going back and forth like this, they both decided to sit on the couch together for a while and watch T.V., and whoever fell asleep first would stay on the couch.  
In the end, Jungkook couldn't tell if Taehyung was asleep when he finally let his eyes close completely. They may have missed the point of the game, but both of them were too tired to properly think it through when they agreed to it. The logic was a bit reversed, but they both overlooked that and turned it into a competition of who could stay awake the longest. 

Of course, Jungkook was the one who ended up losing, letting his head rest against the armrest of the leather couch as he fell asleep.


	9. Part Eight-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sdfhjkl;
> 
> yeah that's about all my mind can think of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hrngh so my problem with writing rn is that I have a few key events planned out fully in detail but the I only have a vague idea of what should be happening in between, I'm sorta just drifting along and making shit up as I go. It's great, yeah, leaves me in a constant state of uncertainty and panic. 2.4/13.7 would not recommend this mood no thank you.
> 
> Bit of a shorter one than I would've liked, but that's because I more or less have some form of plan for the next sorta group of chapters and I'm sorta ramping up to that, so I expect those ones will be a little longer

To Jungkook's mild surprise, he did in fact wake up on the couch the next morning. It wasn't like he was expecting that once he had fallen asleep, Taehyung would have carried him to a proper bed again, no, definitely not. Maybe he was surprised because Taehyung wasn't sleeping in the room either. No, he was lying face-down on the floor, somehow comfortably asleep. Jungkook sat up a little too fast and his head felt so heavy that he almost lay down again. He blinked a few times to gain his bearings and stared down at Taehyung on the floor, who didn't even have a blanket covering him. Jungkook frowned, tentatively shuffling closer to where Taehyung was lying and decided to poke him with his foot.  
Taehyung groaned and rolled over onto his side, shoving Jungkook's foot away.

  
"So why are you sleeping on the floor?" Jungkook yawned, stretching his uncomfortable muscles.

  
Taehyung made a sleepy noise, clearly wanting to just go back to sleep.  
Jungkook shoved him harder with his foot, eliciting an even louder groan this time.

  
"I didn't want to take the bed and I was too tired to lift you- didn't help that you had somehow gotten much heavier than I remember- so, I just lay down here for a few minutes." those 'few minutes' seemed to have been much longer than he thought, and his voice was cracked and tired.

  
Jungkook rolled his eyes. He really should've just taken the bed when Taehyung insisted, since at least then, he wouldn't be sleeping on the floor. Jungkook threw the blanket that had miraculously appeared on him while he was sleeping down onto Taehyung, who burrowed into the warmth and seemed to start drifting to sleep once more. He stood and walked across to the kitchen, swinging open the fridge and grabbing some bottled water. He paused at the fridge for a moment before taking a second bottle and tossing it over to Taehyung, hitting him in the face and causing him to yelp and finally sit up.

  
"What was that?" his voice was even raspier than before.

"Water. You sound like a dying duck, hydrate yourself." Jungkook knocked back half of his water in one go, slightly scrunching the plastic bottle when he screwed the cap back on.

  
Taehyung reluctantly took a couple of sips from the bottle, standing to walk over to the kitchen to where Jungkook was. He hoisted himself onto the kitchen bench and swung his legs over the ledge, kicking them back and forth. He watched Jungkook rummage through his fridge for a few more moments before interrupting:

  
"Y'know, shockingly enough, I have even less food than yesterday morning, so there's really no point in looking in there at all.

  
Jungkook turned to frown at him before slamming the fridge door shut, leaning against it with folded arms as he stared at Taehyung.

  
"Was worth a try. What are we going to eat then?"

"Like I said yesterday-" Tae yawned mid sentence "-I don't eat breakfast, but I can buy you something if you're hungry."

  
Jungkook scrunched up his nose and stared out of the window, down at the busy streets below.

  
"Nah." He really didn't want Taehyung to spend any more money on his food. He'd feel bad.  
  


  
Jungkook took a shower and changed into a cleaner set of clothes he had stuffed into his bag. The two of them went down to Jin's apartment to steal more food (don't worry he returned them shoes ), before they left the complex in Taehyung's car, driving back to Jungkook's apartment in Yangcheong-gu. This time, the drive across the river was much more lively, with he and Taehyung keeping up casual conversation the whole way. When they were still a few blocks away from Jungkook's apartment, however, Taehyung parked the car against the curb in a jerky manner.

  
"Nope- we're getting out right now."

  
Jungkook really had no time to say anything before Taehyung dragged him out of the car and halfway down the street, to a barbecue place that Taehyung had insisted was 'the best in the world'. Jungkook had argued that if it was such a great shop, why he'd never heard of it in the three years in which he lived right around the corner from it. But, looking at the shop, he could easily guess why.

It wasn't that the place was shabby, no. It was rather small and modest, no flashing signs or bright lights. Just a simple sign stuck to the door. The walls were painted with a light beige and wasn't very eye-catching. Jungkook had probably walked past it dozens of times, yet never really noticed it at all. It seemed to be the type that you'd hear of through word of mouth and nothing more.

Jungkook raised an eyebrow at the unassuming storefront before rolling his eyes and following Taehyung inside. The workers behind the bar smiled and greeted Taehyung familiarly. It seemed Taehyung was a regular here. Taehyung made a beeline straight to a small table towards the back of the room.  
After they had sat, he slid a menu over to Jungkook, not even bothering to look at one himself. Taehyung was once again buying Jungkook lunch, despite his adamant refusal. He made all sorts of suggestions and recommendations that Jungkook took no notice of, opting for the cheapest dish, since he felt guilty that Taehyung kept buying him food.When the waitress came over, Taehyung made the order fluently with a smile.  
While they waited, Taehyung went on and on about how good the food was, and even when the food came, he didn't shut up, insisting that Jungkook had to try some of his food, too. Jungkook managed to skillfully avoid the meat Taehyung had tried to feed him, clamping his mouth shut tightly and pressing it into a thin line. Taehyung pouted and sulkily ate the rest of his food.   
When they left, Jungkook noticed that their meals had been heavily discounted, the waitress smiling at the warmly as Taehyung waved and dragged Jungkook back out onto the street again. 

When they had finally gotten back to the car, it only took five minutes for Taehyung to drive around the corner to Jungkook's apartment. When they pulled into the car park, Tae leaned over and ruffled Jungkook's hair and told him to visit them all again soon, which Jungkook assured him he would. Jungkook got out of the car and stood in front of the building door, watching Taehyung's car drive away for a few moments before finally going back into the building and back into his apartment.

||*||

When Jungkook went back to work, he didn't see Jimin as much. it felt weird to Jungkook, that at around 12:45, Jimin didn't peek his head into Jungkook's office cubicle with a fresh cup of coffee. He supposed that Jimin didn't feel the need to check up on him as often anymore. Jungkook also knew for a fact that Jimin had gotten a lot busier himself, and was only in the building- well, at least that part of the building- every few days.

Over the next few weeks, Jungkook contacted his friends a lot more, visiting them in Jongo-gu and sometimes having them over at his apartment. They texted each other a lot more, and even managed to revive the old group chat they had from University.`  
When he went to the apartment complex in Jongo-gu, Jungkook actually entered through the main lobby. It reminded Jungkook more of a luxury hotel and if it hadn't been for the lack of people going in or out, or even being in the lobby area, he would have been sure it was. He had been stopped at the door a few times by staff- who seemed more like thugs, in Jungkook's opinion- and had to wait for one of the others to come down and get him, but after about two weeks, he wasn't being stopped at the door anymore and was permitted to go straight in and up to the apartments.  
During the time he spent with his friends, however, the two Jungkook had seen the least were Jimin and Yoongi. They weren't avoiding each other, it was more that they were either more removed when they were in a group, or were busy most afternoons.

One night, Jungkook had been roped into playing cards with the six, though he didn't have the slightest clue how to play. This was one of only times he really spent talking with Jimin much, who, along with Hoseok, taught Jungkook how to play and walked him through the entire night's rounds. By the end of it, Jungkook knew a few different variations of poker, which he did better at than he expected. It was all fun and games really. No one really lost anything, other than maybe their pride.

Whenever he left the building, Jungkook didn't know if it was because of how late it was, or what, but he always felt a sense of unease. Maybe it was because that after so many hours spent in there, the streets were just as busy when he came out, only darker, and that it had a sense of timelessness. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn't quite familiar with the district. Maybe it was the paranoid feeling that he always had at least one pair of eyes on his back. He didn't know, but he didn't like it. Jungkook had developed the habit of walking quickly when he left the building at night, half to keep himself warm in the chilly air, half to get him away from whatever that feeling was quicker.

Jungkook was finally feeling like he was getting back into the swing of some form of social life that didn't consist of only his best friend. He had little free time left now and that really wasn't a bad thing, since he had been long overdue for some exposure to sociality again.

But, no matter how bright his friends smiles were, or how comfortably they all joked with each other, Jungkook couldn't shake the weird feeling in the pit of his stomach.


	10. Part Nine-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blerghhhhh boring day yes indeed. Maybe I'll start writing these summaries. maybe...
> 
> COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hrnghh I am so sorry I got sick for a few days but oh well I'll try to make this a good chapter anyways. gosh I'm so tired but idk where I'm going with anything- I know I said that I had a plan but I'm trying to figure out how to initiate that plan haha. I still feel like I'm making progress tho, cause I keep coming up with these amazing bits for later so I guess that means that later on I'll be writing those quicker so at least there's that. 
> 
> also: I thought of a better thing to do at the start of the fic- it's really only a couple of sentences at the end of the first chap, not really enough that you'd want to go back and read it so don't worry, but I'm just slightly changing it, since I wrote the start last year and am only now accepting that it's trash. ha. also changed a single sentence in one of the other chapters and I guess it's too late if you've read it now but ha, oh well, rip me.
> 
> fgdhjkdsaf I'm so distracted rn Chan's livestreaming ep 62 of Chan's room, gotta pay attention to genius leader Bang Chan.

* * *

It had been well over two months since Jungkook had first woken up in Taehyung's apartment. At this point, it had become more like a second home to him. Taehyung no longer tried to press the matter of Jungkook taking the bed, who was stubborn and refused to compromise. It wasn't uncommon to find Jungkook asleep on his couch more than twice a week. Jungkook slept there so often that it didn't surprise the others that Taehyung kept an extra set of bedding in the corner of the lounge area, for it was used far too much to be stored in the hall cupboard.

Jungkook wasn't sure when it was that he became so comfortable in someone else’s apartment, nor was he sure when it was that Taehyung had become so comfortable as to no longer lock the apartment door. He supposed that he didn't really need to, since the only other apartments on the floor were either supposedly empty, or belonged to his friends.

Half of the time, Taehyung wasn't even home when Jungkook called. He worked such bizarre hours that baffled Jungkook to the point where he no longer questioned them, and due to this, neither he or Taehyung were ever sure when he'd be home.

Jungkook fell off of the couch when he heard a loud noise from the kitchen.  
Since he had started to stay over more frequently, Taehyung had actually started to properly stock his kitchen, which Jungkook was glad of, because he could hardly imagine how healthy Tae's diet would have been back when he was eating out for almost every meal.  
Jungkook frowned at the noise, reaching over to cover his ears with a pillow. The sound of chinking ceramic permeated the plush pillow and Jungkook abandoned all hope of getting back to sleep, throwing the pillow across the room with a groan.

Taehyung looked over and rolled his eyes at the over-dramatic action, sighing loudly as he watched Jungkook lie face-down on the floor.   
”I was going to make you a coffee, but if you’re this tired I don’t think it would make a difference, anyway.” 

  
Jungkook lifted his head when he heard the word “coffee” suddenly feeling much more awake. He peeked his head around the corner of the couch to stare at Taehyung.  
”No, no, I’m sure coffee would make a difference and I would very much like one.” He tried to give Taehyung a bright smile, but it looked a little bit more uncomfortable from his spot on the floor and after lying there for a few more seconds, he decided he’d get up after all.

Jungkook stretched his arms and neck as he crossed the room, creating loud cracking sounds that Taehyung visibly winced at.

  
”Holy shit stop- I’m sorry I woke you up, just don’t.” He noticeably shivered. “Doesn’t doing that cause arthritis? Even more reason not to do it.”

Jungkook plonked himself down at the breakfast bar. “Nope, that’s bullshit, I checked. Sorry-“ he loudly cracked his knuckles. “-but I’m not stopping.”

  
Taehyung gave him a look of distaste and moved to turn on the stove and boil the kettle.

  
”Why don’t you just get an electric kettle?” Jungkook glared at the bright lemon-coloured kettle.

”’Cause,” Taehyung rifled through the pantry. “I like it.”

”But it takes forever.” Jungkook whined, drumming his fingers on the countertop.

“And yet it is one of the many reasons why my apartment is cuter than yours.”

  
The two sat at the counter while they drank, Jungkook griping about mornings in between sips.

Taehyung watched him complain with a faint trace of amusement in his eyes, raising a brow at every other controversial opinion Jungkook’s tired brain threw out. He didn’t seem to mind Jungkook’s confused morning state, thankfully.

When Taehyung had moved to the sink to rinse out his mug, Jungkook took the moment to frown into his own. Taehyung always made the coffee too sweet. Jungkook can’t remember ever seeing him drink something without two sugars at least. He made a mental note to pick up something stronger on the way to work.

||*||

Jungkook left the building and walked a block down to where he had parked his car. He always left his car in the same place when he stopped by, and always walked down the same roads, past the same coffee kiosk and got the same coffee every time. Despite still having the bitter taste of one coffee still in his mouth, Jungkook decided he needed an extra kick. It took him five minutes to walk to the coffee kiosk today, and as soon as the barista caught sight of him, he hastily began preparing the coffee that Jungkook would no doubt order without fail. Whenever Jungkook bought coffee, he had it as black as possible, and the taste would linger hours later.   
Jungkook sat down at one of the kiosk's stools and smiled brightly at the barista- his name was Jaehyun, which Jungkook had learnt after dozens of chats over the counter.

  
  
"Here's your disgusting coffee, Jungkook." Jaehyun wrinkled his nose as he slid the paper cup towards Jungkook. "I really can't understand how you drink that shit, but whatever, I'm the one who's getting the money you waste on it."

  
Jungkook frowned at him. "You know that going on about how shit your coffees are isn't a very sound business practice, right?"

  
"No, no. My coffees are fine, it's just that you force me to mutilate them to the point where they taste like poison."

  
Jungkook rolled his eyes at him. "And yet it is a poison I need to live." He dramatically took a large swig of the drink to emphasise, but ended up choking and spluttering upon discovering just how hot it was.

  
Jaehyun winced a little but couldn't help but laugh, tossing him some "complimentary" napkins to wipe his shirt. "What the fuck did you expect when you don't put any milk in it??" He _tsked,_ looking at Jungkook's now ruined shirt in pity. "Maybe it was poison..."

  
Jungkook continued to cough, laughing dryly as he struggled to regain that cool composure he lost in a second. "Honestly, I wouldn't even be surprised if you poisoned me one of these days."

  
Jaehyun leaned across the counter with his hand supporting his head, smirking slightly. "Mark your words, Jungkook." He winked playfully before shooing him away from the kiosk, berating him for "scaring away any possible customers with his coughing fit".

  
  
Jungkook glared at him before he did leave, trying to smooth down the now wrinkled and slightly damp shirt. He checked his watch. He might have enough time to duck back to his apartment to grab a spare shirt. Probably not. He got up early enough to have time to stop and chat with Jaehyun and still make it to work on time, but not early enough to salvage what little dignity he had left. He grimaced as he looked at the shirt. At least it wasn't white.  
  


  
He walked for another five or ten minutes before he got to his car. He glanced at himself in the mirror when he started the car, scowling a little when he noticed that his hair was a mess, too. he made a useless attempt to neaten it, but gave up when he noticed he was cutting it a bit too close to be comfortable and decided he better get to work before he was in danger of being late.

It took longer to drive to work from Taehyung's apartment than his own, and he had to cross the river. He woke up a little earlier to make up for this, and he even started waking up even earlier to stop and chat with Jaehyun in the mornings once he found out how much he enjoyed his morning commentary and coffee. He still liked to sleep for as long as possible, however, so he was always in a rush in the mornings to stick to his tight schedule.

When he got to work, he rushed to his desk and hastily muttered a hello to the people he passed. He made it on time, of course. He was never late. Not yet, anyway. He had noticed that his floor of the office was noticeably emptier than usual. He didn't think much of it, though, since a lot of people got sick around this time of year. He flicked open his laptop, but didn't have the chance to start his work before a set of knuckles rapped on the wall.

  
  
"Hey." Jimin stood leaning against the wall.

  
Jungkook was surprised to even see him here, let alone at his desk so early in the morning. A few months ago, this wan't an uncommon occurrence, yet in the past while, he had Jimin had drifted apart a little. They were still best friends and had fun with each other, but miscommunication was much more common than it used to be, and Jimin wasn't as talkative and seemed a little more preoccupied these days.

Jimin stood there with a steaming mug of coffee in his hands, which Jungkook assumed was for him.

He set the cup down in front of Jungkook, who had honestly already had enough coffee for the day. the two chatted for a while before Jimin took notice of Jungkook only fiddling with his cup idly and not actually drinking it. he raised an eyebrow.

  
"What, is my coffee not good enough for you anymore?" He smiled wryly.

  
Jungkook's eyes widened a little, surprised at how easily Jimin could read him. "What? No, it's just that I had some on the way to work, that's all.." 

  
"Oh, so you're buying coffee in the mornings now? since when?"

  
"My friend Jaehyun is a Barista." Yeah. Jungkook thought that at this point he could call Jaehyun a friend.

  
"Jaehyun? How come I've never hear about him? Come on, tell me more." Jimin whisked away the cup and began drinking from it himself, since Jungkook definitely wasn't going to. Jimin had an unreadable air of interest around him.

  
"Jung Jaehyun. He's a year or so older than me, I think. whenever I stop at Tae's place I walk past the place he sells coffee on the way to my car. I guess I sorta stopped for a chat a few times when I got coffee and it's become a routine... You should come meet him some time, I'm sure you'd get along."

  
Jimin's face fell slightly, almost unnoticeably so. "Sounds nice. Good for you, socialising. It's about time, to be honest." His voice wavered the tiniest bit and he left soon after, excusing himself.  
  


||*||  
  


Jimin returned at lunch. He was holding a cup of coffee, sipping out of it slowly as he stared at Jungkook. "We're finishing a couple hours earlier today." He looked more tired than before and glanced across the office sporadically. "Don't need to come in for next couple of weeks either."

  
  
"Why's that?" Jungkook leaned back in his desk chair, resting his head on the wall.

  
"Renovations." Jimin said bluntly, taking another swig of his coffee, frowning into the cup once it was empty.

  
  
Jungkook nodded and Jimin left. He stayed leaning against the wall for a little while before skimming his eyes across his desk to his laptop, checking the time. That meant that they'd be finishing in about two hours. He looked at the half a dozen email drafts he had open on his laptop screen. He knew he should finish those quickly, but he didn't quite seem to have the energy at the moment.  
He rolled his chair over to where he had dumped his laptop bag and searched the outside pocket for the food he had brought with him. He really needed a sugar hit. Or maybe a caffeine hit. Maybe he should've drunk the coffee Jimin had made him earlier. Furrowing his brows, he rubbed at his temples, feeling the start of a headache.   
Water. That was what he needed.

He felt a few pairs of eyes on him as he crossed the office. It wasn't unusual that people looked up at him as he passed, but today they seemed to follow him all the way to the floor's small kitchen, which Jungkook did not enjoy.

He filled a large glass with water and knocked back the entire thing, hoping to drown the headache before it even started. Jungkook stared into the sink for a few moments before he decided to lightly splash his face with the running water. It was refreshing, but now there was even more spilt liquid on his shirt. He filled the glass again for good measure and brought it back to his desk, doing his best to keep his head down and not catch the eye of anyone else in the office.

Jungkook sighed as he sat back down in his chair, running his hand through his now slightly damp hair. He felt better.

  
||*||

  
After two hours, Jimin came back once again, tapping him on the shoulder. They took the elevator together, Jimin taking the opportunity to chat more.

  
  
"So, when'd you meet your friend? what was his name... Jaehyun, right?" Jimin stared at the numbers on the screen, watching them go down as they grew closer to the ground floor.

  
"I think it was around a month and a half ago? I'm not too sure, actually." He looked sideways at Jimin, who had his lips pursed tightly as he stared at the descending numbers.  
  
  


He walked Jungkook out to the carpark and made sure to remind him not to show up to work until the first of the next month, before standing and watching his car leave and disappear from his sight before leaving himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi so here some more notes: I am so sorry this chapter really took way too long and it isn't any longer than usual. I was going to put this in the notes but there was already too much there so here's my apology at the bottom. also, I've decided that if I can't think of any names, I'll chuck in some idols and if you pick up on it then nice. was watching this one ep of JCC and decided that Jaehyun would be a gr8 barista so there you go. Are there any good fics anyone can recommend?? I'm reading a 500,000 BTS fic rn that I regret but I'm too far into the thing to stop now and not feel bad about it.


	11. Part Ten-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of mopey Jungkook but that's ok he won't be mopey for long.
> 
> idk maybe he'll get worse lol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg i just got a new laptop I can finally start writing again.  
> ohmigosh I'm so tired rn we're in whatever stage of lockdown for the next 6 weeks and honestly I haven't left the house in months. You'd think I'd get more writing done but no...  
> I think I'm starting to get into the swing of writing this more so I think I'll gradually start to write longer stuff since I'm giving it proper attention now.  
> Also, when I get comfortable enough with writing longer and I know more about what the fuck I'm doing, I'll probably be going back to previous chapters and rewrite at least a few and maybe make them longer. There probably won't be too many additions but I'll let you know if it's worth going back to or anything.

So here's a pic of NCT's Jaehyun as a barista cause it happened and it's why he's a barista in the fic:  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Jungkook never liked cemeteries. Well, no one really did, he supposed. There was nothing pleasant about the days he visited. The air always felt too thin, the sky was always too bleak and everything was just too quiet. Just him alone with his thoughts, which was never fun. He knew Jimin hated the cemetery too, but not for the same reasons. Jimin seemed to get annoyed, or even a little angry every time he went with Jungkook. Subsequently, Jungkook decided to tell him that he didn't need to feel obligated to go with him. Jimin didn't like to talk about the situation, and rarely brought up anything about it unless he had to. He usually never had to, not unless it was Jungkook who was in a mood because of it; he could always tell when he was.

When his phone went off as an alarm that morning, Jungkook let it ring out, rolling onto his back to stare at the roof. It was one of those days, he had decided. One of the days he would visit Aera.

He felt an inexplicable sense of pain in his chest when he opened his eyes. He only felt like this a few times a year, and the timing was pretty spot on. It was like his body recognised the days he should be upset before he even realised what day of the week it was. 

But today wasn't one of the days he was meant to feel like this. 

No, the anniversary had been over a month ago, and he had in fact visited Aera that day.

Jungkook lay on his back and tried to come up with a reason as to why he felt like this. He honestly didn't know.

Maybe the recent exposure to everything he had been missing had brought back fresh feelings for the whole situation. Almost everything was back to how it was, except for the fact that Aera wasn't a part of it anymore.

Despite having felt it many times, Jungkook couldn't put a name to the feeling in his chest. He knew what it meant and how to chase it away, but he couldn't describe it.

Jungkook dragged himself out of his bed, groaning as he pressed a palm to his forehead. A headache always came with this feeling, how could he forget?

He trudged to the kitchen, keeping a hand on his temple to try and dull the pain.

He downed multiple large glasses of water to try and quell the pounding ache and it helped a little, but what he knew he needed most was a cup of coffee.

Jungkook would've gone to any nearby coffee shop and got something on the way, but he remembered two things:

1\. Jaehyun made the best coffee.

2\. He had left his wallet in Hoseok's apartment in Jongno-gu.

Jongno-gu was a long way to drive for a coffee, but since he was going that way anyway, he might as well grab one.

||*||

The cold air was a relief to Jungkook's senses as he stepped out into the day. In his hyper-sensitive state, however, everything else was a little too much. The sky was too bright and left him squinting as it took him much longer to adjust than usual. The cars were a little too loud. The headache he had been keeping at bay suddenly decided to rear it's head the moment he left the apartment building. It was only a short walk to get a coffee from his friends' apartments, but today every second took too long for Jungkook.

As he briskly walked down the street, the window display of a florist's caught his eye, causing him to double back and stop. He'd never noticed the shop before, but he supposed he had never been looking to buy any flowers. He stood there for a few seconds before pushing the door open. If he was visiting Aera, there was no way he'd show up empty-handed.

The woman behind the counter smiled and Jungkook politely returned it. He already knew what he was looking for. He always got the same flowers. All the florists' usually had the same few basic bouquets that he could count on being at any store. Red carnations weren't really fancy, but they were her favourite. She had always liked bold colours and red had been her absolute favourite, which had honestly fit her, all things considered.

Jungkook remembered that she had been incredibly brash and extremely stubborn. Aera was always quick to the draw and was never afraid of defending her opinions. This had always irked Jimin since she was always exceptionally reckless and often didn't know when to quit. Her direct and straightforward nature had been something Jungkook had always loved about her. In that way, she had seemed simple. She would say whatever was on her mind with zero difficulties, but this didn't mean she didn't keep her own secrets irritatingly well. 

Jungkook bit his lip as he stared at the flowers. 

He had found out that she wasn't as simple as she seemed too late. Aera leaving brought forward so many questions that Jungkook would never get the answers to. He had noticed that she had changed in the last few weeks he had seen her, but she had always talked to him and he had expected her to tell him herself. It was obvious to him now that he had asked too late.

Jungkook could feel tears sting at his eyes and made a discreet effort to wipe them away as he took the carnations to the florist's counter. He really didn’t want to start crying in the middle of the store.  
He paid from them quickly and left the store even faster, picking up the pace as he walked down the pavement towards Jaehyun's coffee kiosk.

||*||

Jungkook's eyes were no longer red when he sat down on a stool at the counter. Jaehyun raised a brow at him as he speedily made a takeaway coffee for another customer, barely having to watch his hands as he worked.

  
"Didn't expect to see you here today- at least, not this late, anyway." He finished the other customer's order and handed it to him with a bright smile before turning to Jungkook with a quizzical look in his eyes.

Jungkook laughed drily before pressing his lips together in a flat line.  
"I didn't plan to be here today."

Jaehyun picked up a coffee cup.  
"You're still buying a coffee, right? You're not just here to ask me on a date or anything?"

Jungkook rolled his eyes. "And why the fuck do you think I'd ever ask you of all people on a date?"

Jaehyun shrugged with an air of nonchalance.  
"Just the bouquet." he nodded towards the carnations resting on the stool next to Jungkook.  
"Who _are_ you asking on a date then if not me? Must be a nice girl." 

  
The small smile that Jungkook wore faltered for a moment and he stared down at his hands folded in his lap. Jaehyun noticed and froze as he was making Jungkook's coffee. He set the paper cup down gently and turned to look at Jungkook with a mixture of curiosity and mild confusion. His eyebrows furrowed and he leant forward on the counter a little.

  
"Jungkook?"

Jungkook didn't realise he had started to cry a little until Jaehyun dropped everything and reached over with a napkin and made an attempt to wipe the steady stream of tears dripping from his cheeks.

" _Shit-_ Hey, Jungkook, I'm so sorry I didn't realise."

Jungkook's hearing was a little fuzzy as he took a handful of the napkins Jaehyun was hurriedly pushing in his direction and dabbed at his eyes. He thought he heard Jaehyun mutter ' _fuck me'_ under his breath as all the amusement in his eyes from before was quickly replaced with shame and concern and above all else: empathy.

" _Fuck I'm really sorry- I didn't mean to."_

Jaehyun seemed to wring his hands in a distressed manner before he gathered himself and began to quickly resume making Jungkook's coffee. A few moments later he slid the steaming cup towards Jungkook and leant forward on the counter again.

  
"Here- just drink this, it's on the house- please stop crying, I'm so sorry." He reached forward and squeezed Jungkook's shoulder, his voice apologetic.

  
Jungkook took a couple of minutes to regain his lost composure. He straightened up again and held onto the cup in front of him with a tight grip. He sat there, taking small sips of the coffee, for a few more minutes before he felt calm enough to trust his voice and speak.

  
"It's not really a date." He tried to smile a little and spin a little amusement into his voice. His face fell again straight afterwards as his eyes clouded slightly.  
"But, she was my girlfriend."

  
People could've easily misinterpreted this as Jungkook trying to win back an ex or something else regarding relationship issues, with the way that he phrased it, but Jaehyun knew. He knew by looking at his face. He'd seen the same face on different people so many times- the same raw feelings. When Jungkook said this he visibly winced and hissed at the insensitivity of his comment earlier.

"I'm so sorry-"

"No, it's OK. How were you supposed to know?" Jungkook stared at the bouquet of red carnations that now lay in his lap.

Jaehyun paused for a while, mulling something over. "Do you... mind if I ask what happened...?" He tested the waters with a cautious voice.

Jungkook had taken quite some time to reply and Jaehyun was scared he'd made him start to cry again.

"Sorry- pretend I didn't ask that." Jaehyun's neck burned red with guilt and he began wiping down the kiosk's counter to keep himself busy.

"Terrorist attack at a hotel three years ago." Jungkook said it rather bluntly, causing Jaehyun to look up in shock.

  
"Oh..." something in his eyes sparked at this. "I'm really sorry to hear that."

  
Jungkook nodded a little before continuing to take small sips of his coffee. He and Jaehyun talked like this for a while longer. There were short answers from both of them. It turns out that Jaehyun had lost both of his parents in a surprisingly similar way, yet he seemed much more at ease talking about it. Jungkook wondered how long it had been and how faded the scars on his heart must be for him to be so direct about the whole thing.

After about another half hour of talking, Jungkook finally excused himself and decided to get to his car before he got a ticket. As he walked down the street away from the kiosk, he turned to wave at Jaehyun. Jaehyun didn't notice, for he was rapidly typing on his phone with a stony, blank expression that didn't quite sit right with Jungkook. Jungkook shrugged it off and picked up the pace again, determined to not get so distracted again. 

||*||

As he slid into the Avante's driver's seat and slammed the door shut, he placed the bouquet onto the passenger seat beside him so that they wouldn't fall. He had gotten back to where he parked his car with 10 minutes to spare. The usual car-park he used with free overnight parking had been unsurprisingly full, and the closest one he could find to that one that wasn't at maximum capacity only offered 2-hour parking. Considering he had to walk both ways, picked up some flowers and had had the time to stop for close to an hour for coffee, Jungkook thought he had been pretty damn efficient.

As he drove, he turned the radio on low. He needed to have background noise. It felt wrong to sit in the quiet by himself, especially on days like these.

He drove for over an hour like this. The cemetery was a few towns over in a more quiet and discreet area. Aera had never liked living in the crowded environment of the city, preferring the countryside. She did, however, like the idea of the intricate, yet simple clockwork routine the city followed every day. She had a weird thing for looking into the small details of things and how they ticked. She had often mused that if she could control the small details, then by extension she could control the bigger picture.

Jungkook smiled fondly at the memories of listening to her rant about philosophy and how corrupt the government in Seoul really was. She had always appeared bored by politics, but when Jungkook knew her, she had been studying for a degree around it, along with a degree in business. Despite not having much of an interest in either, she had mentioned once to Jungkook that it would be useful to have at least some qualifications in them, as she had a job her father had lined up for her that she would get regardless, but she wanted to have a little more knowledge in the field.

The buildings that rushed by the car slowly became less dense and gradually stopped reaching to the sky, growing decreasingly smaller and modest.

As he drove through some of the smaller surrounding districts, Jungkook found himself turning up the radio, trying to drown out his thoughts as he focused solely on driving.

He didn't think about the destination, no. He only thought about the next immediate thing, letting the navigation system lead him blindly. Take a right turn here and then a left and keep going until he was faced with the next crossroads; the next decision.

||*||

It had been a couple of hours before he began to recognise the beginnings of the town where the cemetery was located. If he had to describe the place, he'd say that it was obscure yet vibrant and cheerful, but it was hard to think of it in any positive light when the only thing he ever visited the town for was absolutely soaked in negative emotions.

He drove through the streets which for a relatively small town, were always quite busy. The cemetery was more or less on the way out of the town on the other side, so he drove for about five minutes before he could see the Gothic, wrought iron gate at the end of the road.

Bringing his car to a stop by the side of the road, Jungkook popped the car door open, leaning over quickly to grab the bouquet of carnations. He slammed the door shut and heard it echo through the street. The bustling town always seemed to forget about the existence of this street, or rather, pretended it wasn't there. there was never anyone in or around the cemetery when Jungkook visited, which to be perfectly honest, suited him just fine.

He walked up the slight slope of the driveway and through the open gates, reaching up to smooth out his shirt.

He had dressed a little formally, but not enough to draw any attention to his outfit. He had a thin, simple dress jacket over a light black button-up, since it was Summer, after all.

Jungkook walked down the driveway until he passed the line of trees separating the driveway from the graves. He walked between the tightly packed rows, far into the yard of gravestones, towards the back of the plot of land.

Aera's family had been remarkably wealthy and influential and had a small corner of the cemetery entirely reserved for the one grave. The grave was located in the North Easter corner, where the cemetery backed onto dense woodland, so it was significantly more spacious than the rest of the cemetery.

Jungkook reached up to pull the sleeves of his jacket up, regretting wearing it on a humid day. As he neared the furthermost area of the cemetery, he expected to see the neat headstone resting there as an almost blank square of grey amongst the greenery, but felt his steps falter a little as his eyes caught on a vibrant splash of colour.

A neat bouquet rested in front of the stone slab, the colour standing out starkly.

Yellow. Yellow Carnations. 

Jungkook looked at the deep red bouquet in his hands and felt strangely off-put by the coincidence. He stood a few paces away from the headstone and looked between the bouquets. He wasn't an expert on flowers, but it was obvious even to him that they were both bouquets of carnations. It felt weird, but it wasn't so much the type of flowers that bothered him, but the fact that there were flowers there at all.

In the past three years, Jungkook had never seen a single bouquet other than his own by Aera's grave. Of course, he didn't visit as often as he thought he should, so he could've simply never been around when others visited, but he didn't think it likely. On the routine days that he visited, he had often made small talk with the caretakers who watched over the cemetery at those times and it had come to his attention that surprisingly, no one else ever visited Aera, at least, no one that caught the caretakers' eyes. No one else had ever left flowers for them to clean up.

Jungkook stared at the bouquet on the ground for a few beats longer before realigning his train of thought and moving forward to lean down and leave his bouquet next to the other. He stood in front of the headstone in silence for what seemed like a few minutes, then walked to the side and sat down next to it, looking out in the direction it was facing.

  
"Pretty nice view, isn't it?" He said it more to himself than anything, not even sparing the headstone a sideways glance.

  
The corner where the grave was located seemed even more removed from the rest of the cemetery when Jungkook looked at it from this angle. The area was almost completely framed with trees and was on a small slope so that when Jungkook looked out across it from his spot on the ground, he couldn't even see the vast sea of flat gravestones, now hidden below the crest of the hill. He had a clear view of the skyline.

Jungkook tilted his head to the side and leant it on the headstone next to him, gazing out at the uninterrupted horizon. He wasn't sure when he started crying, but he was acutely aware of the tears that were slowly dripping off of his cheeks and onto the polished stone, leaving darker lines where they ran. He lifted his head up and turned to look at the headstone.

  
"Some date this is, huh?" He laughed with a raspy voice, remembering the attempt at light-hearted banter that Jaehyun had made before.

  
Of course, he knew he looked like an idiot for talking to himself, but it felt wrong to just sit there in silence. Jungkook looked at the simple inscription on the headstone so long and hard and burnt it into his memory- or more, refreshed his memory since this part of his visit was like routine. He let it sink in, keeping his eyes locked onto the name chiselled into the fine stone.

_Choi Aera_

That was it. That was all that was here. That was the only thing he could look at when he came and visited. There was no other inscription, besides the date of birth and death chiselled neatly below. No loving message, no quote of any kind, no summary of what sort of person she was, no witty comment. Nothing. Just a name and a set of dates.

A set of dates that Jungkook hated to look at more than anything.

Jungkook thought back to the night all those weeks ago, when he had run into that girl. He unfocused his eyes that were still fixed on the inscription, feeling like a complete idiot for ever considering the possibility that it was Aera in the first place.  
He had actually never ended up telling Jimin or the others about it. He didn’t really know why, to be honest. It would only worry them when he was completely fine. Nothing had really happened, and he had honestly almost forgotten about it in the past few weeks.

Jungkook let himself fall down and lie on the lush grass. The sky, framed by the branches of trees, was like a leaden, solid picture to him.

A picture that though bland, held much meaning.

||*||

When Jungkook shut the door to his apartment, the feeling that had been clawing at his throat and pounding in his head all day had finally stopped for good. He was tired, more than anything. He didn't even have the energy to be upset anymore.

He looked at the mess that was his apartment. The past few weeks, he found himself staying in his own apartment less and thus also cared less about the state that it was in. Jimin had already been around and ad been absolutely appalled by the mess, so much so that he cleaned Jungkook's apartment for him. Now, it was just as messy again, if not worse. He hadn't even made an effort to neaten his bed whatsoever when he had left in the morning, leaving it in a tangle of sheets that only frustrated current Jungkook, since he couldn't just snuggle into the covers and go back to sleep.

By the time he had gotten back, it was already evening. Jungkook didn't even realise that he hadn't eaten at all during the day until he felt a sudden, dull gnawing sensation in his stomach.

He walked into the kitchen and didn't even bother to look into the fridge or the pantry. He knew they'd both be empty. Jungkook's apartment had been neglected for a little over a month now, and he was slipping back into the lifestyle that Jimin called _"Depressed mopey Jungkook"_ except without him actually feeling depressed and mopey- that is, if today wasn't counted.

In short: Jungkook had gotten lazy.

But him being lazy was arguably better than he had been a few months ago. A few months ago he had still been a workaholic with no social life whatsoever, with the exception of Jimin, and he had had the time to do things like properly clean his apartment every day. Now, he was busier, not to mention happier. He did still have time to clean his apartment, but he had been prioritising his interests over that for the past month and a half.

Jungkook held his phone in his hand and was about to open a food delivery app, but before that could happen, his phone pinged.

_Tae- Want to get dinner?_ 😋

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Severely unedited, my apologies. I'm trying to upload as often as I can, and I should be able to do that now that I have a working laptop that I can actually type on and that doesn't have a time limit set that I forgot how to remove. :/
> 
> Also, I'm now going through all of the chapters and making them 3500+ words so I'm sorry


	12. Part Eleven-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Your neighbourhood isn’t exactly safe, Jungkookie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> k so I am apologising for how long this took. I've been mainly going back and making other chapters longer so unless you reread, you'd think I did nothing for like a month. 
> 
> I've been adding little memes at the start of a few chapter based on my mood but the way I was doing it doesn't work anymore? oh well maybe I can fix it. Maybe when I draw some more I can put those at the start too. I'm posting those occasionally on Twitter @Spooky_Hatstand so if ya'll ever have any requests just let me know, I'm honestly so bored.

  
lol guess who's a clown and lied, I figured it out.

The notification at the top of the screen stayed there for a few moments longer and in Jungkook's temporary surprise, he had let it disappear before processing the text properly and scrambling to open his messages. He stared at the phone screen and read the text for the second time.

_Tae- Want to get dinner?_ 😋

Jungkook felt a smile tug at his lips as he typed his reply. He and Taehyung now went out for food or coffee at least once a week, and despite Jungkook's best efforts, Taehyung would usually be the one to pick up the bill. This time, however, he was determined to pay for the food himself.

_JK- Sure. The usual?_

Jungkook took his phone with him to the bathroom and set it down on the bench top, messing his hair up as he scrutinised his reflection. He should take a shower. He shrugged off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt, dropping them onto the cold tiles in a wrinkled heap. His phone buzzed again.

_Tae- Yep. 45 minutes enough time?_

The two had been organising so many things last minute lately that Jungkook could be ready and waiting by the 20 minute mark. He texted back a quick 'no problem' before turning the phone face-down on the bench and blasting the hot water in the shower.

Jungkook preferred hot showers. He had always been told that it was better to have cold showers, or some bullshit, but it never sat right with him. No, he liked it when the water was so hot it almost scalded him, even though it ran his water bill through the roof. He could live without the luxuries of nice furniture and expensive food, but the one thing he found he couldn’t live without was hot showers. Something as simple as a hot shower was probably the only thing in Jungkook’s life that had always stayed the same. They helped ground him and clear his head, and were pretty much essential for him to function as a human being.

When he was finished, the room was all but filled with steam and it was honestly a little difficult to see for a couple of seconds. Jungkook blinked a few seconds and took a large breath full of the humid air before wrapping a towel around his waist and turning the bathroom fan on to clear the room. He turned back towards the bench and flipped his phone on again, seeing how much time he had left.  
  
35 minutes was still plenty of time.

Jungkook roughly towel-dried his hair, walking out of the bathroom and into his walk-in robe.

He knew he would be out-dressed by Taehyung, so he kept that in mind as he tried to pick out an outfit that wouldn’t make him look too shabby in comparison.

Jungkook pulled out a white turtleneck with black stripes and a pair of dark blue jeans, scrunching his nose as he tried to decide what shoes to wear. He stared at his pairs of Timberlands indecisively, trying to choose between them. He decided to forgo the Timberlands entirely and opted for a pair of red sneakers with white laces instead.

Jungkook’s already messy, still damp hair became even more of a mess when he pulled the turtleneck over his head. He tried to ineffectually flatten it a little in between pulling on the rest of his clothes quickly, checking the time again.

  
25 minutes left and he was almost ready to walk out the door.

  
Jungkook had long since grown out of his University phase of being an utter wreck of a disorganised human being, and though he found himself slipping back into old habits of untidiness and disarray, punctuality was something he had picked up and wasn’t going to shake so easily. Seeing that he was sticking to the subconscious schedule in his mind made a small swell of smugness bubble up in his chest.

Taehyung was never punctual. In fact, his only friends that he could count on being relatively on time were Jin and Namjoon. Taehyung texting Jungkook with a time was only a little formality that gave Jungkook a vague idea of when to expect him. He never left Jungkook waiting on purpose, of course. It was always something like forgetting to get ready until there was 10 minutes left, or underestimating traffic and not leaving sooner. Jungkook didn’t mind though. It was one more thing he could hold above his head.

Jungkook gave up on his hair eventually and moved through his apartment to the door. He hesitated before he decided he’d leave his car keys and walk, since it wasn’t far.

Taehyung and Jungkook frequented a few different places for food and had built up a pretty solid list of regular places to meet up. The barbecue place that Taehyung had introduced him to that was around the corner from his apartment had become their go-to place for dinner. Taehyung never really liked going to large restaurants or anything that stood out at a first glance. Whether it be dinner, lunch, or whatever, he preferred low-key modest cafes or family-run businesses. When Jungkook thought about it, the most public place he had ever been invited to by Taehyung was the bar where they had all caught up again.

Thinking about the night at the bar left a sour taste in Jungkook’s mouth that made him frown.

Despite his apparent distaste for fancy restaurants and the like, Taehyung always dressed like he was going to one. He always showed up at their platonic dinner dates in formal wear or brands Jungkook recognised to be so expensive that he would have to sacrifice his month’s salary to afford them. He was beginning to think that Taehyung had inherited the position of CEO in a wealthy business, or something along those lines.

It only took Jungkook a couple of minutes to get out of the building and onto the street. The sun had already set and the warmth of the day was already wearing off. He knew it would take him around ten minutes to walk to the small restaurant, so he figured he had time to spare and could afford to walk a little slower and still get there on time. He buried his cold hands into his pockets as he walked at a steady pace down the pavement, barely even having to think about the direction he was walking, the route now subconsciously engraved into his mind.

When he got to a crosswalk at a set of lights, Jungkook pulled out his phone again as he pushed the button and waited for the light to go to green and let him pass. His phone buzzed as he had moved to turn it on, a text popping up.

_Tae- Leaving now._

Jungkook stuck the phone back in his pocket when the light for the crosswalk turned green, computerised voice blaring in monotony, the dull, steady _beep, beep,_ ringing in his ears as he briskly walked across the road.

***

There was something wrong with Taehyung at dinner, that much Jungkook could tell.

As Jungkook entered the poky restaurant, he noticed that Taehyung had yet to arrive, which wasn’t something that really worried Jungkook, nor surprised him. He had waited in a booth at the back of the small restaurant, checking his phone every so often for new texts out of habit.

When Taehyung had arrived, his eyes had done a skittish sweep of the restaurant for a brief moment before he saw him, his almost grim expression melting into what Jungkook could have sworn was relief.

  
Jungkook frowned. 

Taehyung didn’t particularly look good.

  
His normally perfect outfit was creased and his jacket was crumpled, slung over his shoulder lazily. His hair stuck out at odd angles despite his attempts to flatten it as he sat down at the booth opposite Jungkook. He smiled, which accentuated a fresh cut running through his thick lower lip. Jungkook was surprised to even see a smudge of dirt on his trousers. Overall, he looked like someone had dragged him backwards through a bush.

  
“Hi.” Taehyung ran a hand through his hair and Jungkook tried his best not to track the movement.

“What happened to you?” Jungkook leant forward on one arm and rested his chin in his hand, raising a brow.

“Ah…” Taehyung avoided his eyes. “I ran into trouble a couple streets back.”

Jungkook leant back in his seat, eyes wide with concern “What, someone tried to mug you or something?”

“Something like that…” Taehyung reached forward and grabbed one of the table’s napkins, using it to dab at his now bleeding lip.

“ _Fuck- you didn’t call the police?!”_ Jungkook’s voiced was hushed and filled with alarm.

  
Taehyung shrugged loosely, seemingly unbothered. He didn't seem to want to talk much more about the incident, and Jungkook didn't really blame him. At least he still had his money.

The more time passed, the more Jungkook’s concern grew. Taehyung seemed paranoid, checking over his shoulder out the window every few minutes, looking at Jungkook weirdly and getting distracted mid conversation. He was so unfocused that Jungkook stopped speaking altogether at one point, just to stare at him in worry, yet Taehyung didn’t even notice for a full minute.

  
“Tae?” Jungkook reached out a hand and rested it on Taehyung’s arm.

  
This shook him out of whatever daze he was currently in. He hummed in response.

  
“Are you ok or do you want me to take you home or something?” Jungkook was worried. Someone had literally attempted to attack Taehyung before.

Taehyung shook his head quickly, giving him a boxy grin. “No- I’m fine, I was just thinking.”

  
Jungkook leant back again and nodded, a little less tense.

  
“Your neighbourhood isn’t exactly safe, Jungkookie.” Taehyung laughed awkwardly as he stared at his hand resting on the table.

  
Jungkook frowned and scrunched his face up a little. It was true. Jungkook didn’t exactly live in a nice area. There were nights when Jungkook didn’t even feel safe on the streets right outside the apartment he’d lived in for over three years, but it was a cheap area and it was close to work, so he had always thought of it as a small price to pay for convenience. Instead of telling Taehyung this, however, he simply shrugged.

  
“Haven’t you ever considered moving somewhere else?”

  
Jungkook looked up at him. He’d never really considered that. He had enough money of course, as he’d been living modestly for over 3 years on his own. The thought had just never crossed his mind. So, he answered honestly:

  
“I’d never thought of it, to be honest”

“Well, don’t you have a couple weeks off? Maybe you could look at some apartments near us.”

Jungkook laughed dryly, “Like I could afford anything in Jongno-gu.”

Taehyung flattened his mouth into a line as he stared at Jungkook pensively “I’m sure you’d find something.”

  
Their food arrived not long after, which Jungkook was thankful for, since it meant Taehyung focused more on eating than him. It gave him a while to mull over his options.   
He did want to move to Jongno-gu, but the fact still stood that it was pricey and that he’d have to drive through three districts rather than two and cross the Han River every morning for work.  
Maybe he’d be able to find something in Mapo-gu, or even Yongsan-gu, instead.

They sat and talked for another couple of hours and before Jungkook realised it, it was close to 11:00 already. Normally he wouldn’t be bothered by staying out so late, but the fact that there had been people causing trouble hours ago meant that there’d surely be more at this hour, and he really didn’t like the idea of Taehyung being targeted again, maybe even by some not so willing to let him get out of it with barely a scuffle.

After they paid and left, Jungkook was going to offer to walk Taehyung back to his car, since he knew the safer streets in the area, when a familiar face rounded the corner and stopped in mild surprise.

  
”Jaehyun!” Jungkook smiled brightly and moved to walk over.

Taehyung grabbed his wrist tightly and stopped him, moving a bit closer “Who’s this?” He narrowed his eyes slightly in Jaehyun’s direction, who sheepishly waved, a strange look on his face.

Jungkook turned to look at Taehyung, “Jung Jaehyun,” he said simply, “a friend.”

“I was just walking home… I live a couple of streets away.” Jaehyun flattened his mouth into a line as he stared at Taehyung, gesturing ahead.

  
Jungkook was about to say something else before Taehyung abruptly spoke.

  
”Jungkookie, I sorta don’t feel safe because of what happened earlier. You wouldn’t mind if I crashed at your house for the night, would you?”

“What? No, of course you can stay.” After all, Jungkook felt guilty for being the reason Taehyung was there in the first place.

Taehyung smiled “Great then, let’s go.”

  
They walked a couple of paces before Jungkook seemed to remember Jaehyun and turned back around.

  
”You’re heading this way too, aren’t you? Come walk with us.”

  
Jaehyun gazed at Taehyung with an undecipherable look before he sped up and fell into step with the two of them.

  
“Sure.” Jaehyun said warmly, yet his eyes remained cold, all the while never breaking eye contact with Taehyung.

***

The three of them walked back down the streets, Jungkook the only one making any real conversation. The other two stuck to the most boring, basic small talk he’d ever seen and it looked forced as fuck. One would ask the other what they did for work while the other would smile politely, answer and return the question with just as much sugar in their voice. The way they spoke reminded Jungkook of some petty, old, school rivalry.

Jungkook sincerely hoped his friends didn’t know each other and had some unspoken grudge.

It turned out that Jaehyun lived much closer than Jungkook realised.

When they reached Jungkook’s apartment, Jaehyun was still walking with them and only separated then. Apparently he lived about six building down from Jungkook’s. Talk about a small world.

Jaehyun said a warm goodbye to Jungkook, then a barely civil nod towards Taehyung with a courteous smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, before he quickly walked down the street.

***

One of the only pieces of quality furniture Jungkook had invested in was his couch. It was probably the biggest luxuries he had. It was plush, comfortable- basically the perfect couch for Jungkook’s lazy needs. And the best part? it could fold out into a _bed_.

Jungkook never really had any guests over other than Jimin. And though he and Taehyung had their age old squabble over who took the couch, which Jungkook lost, at least he could sleep easy knowing he had a damn comfortable couch that Taehyung could sleep on.

Jungkook gave Taehyung a set of spare pajamas to wear while he washed Taehyung’s ruined pair of clothes.   
He still felt guilty about the whole thing.

After a couple more hours of talking and watch late night T.V., the two of them finally grew tired and went to sleep.

***

The next day, Jungkook was determined to show off his cooking skills and provide even better hospitality for Taehyung. Maybe it was due to his slight insecurity in his low-end apartment, but Jungkook wanted to impress Taehyung as much as he could.   
Of course, Taehyung has been over before, but that had only ever been for a couple of hours at most, which is entirely different than staying the night.

However, when Jungkook walked into the loungeroom to check if Taehyung had woken, he wasn’t there. The bed had been folded back into the couch and the cushions had been arranged neatly, Jungkook’s spare pajamas had been folded and set on top of the couch.

Jungkook frowned and walked into the kitchen, noticing a note that had been scrawled onto the back of an old receipt Jungkook had no doubt left lying around.

_Had to go to work._

_Thanks for letting me stay over_

_:)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I label these all as "part x" cause I don't think of them as long enough to qualify as chapters. I do plan on writing a lot more and when I eventually do finish this, I do plan on writing more fics. There might be more BTS or maybe some of the other bands I stan, like skz or nct or some others. I don't have too many ideas at the moment but I'm sure I'll get somewhere with them.
> 
> also I'm such a clown for thinking I couldn't get pics onto here, honestly. Even after months, I never noticed the picture button on the toolbar and I thought I had to use my crusty broken HP to copy and paste onto this every chapter. Such clownery, I'm glad I realised my stupidity.


	13. Part 12-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> no summary but I'm putting shit here that I feel like the notes is too crowded for.  
> I've realised that I've made Jungkook just dense as fuck in terms as to people's behaviour and shit. Like, if the last chapter wasn't enough of a hint to that, this one will, and really, it actually works out cause idk how this whole fic would've made sense if Jungkook wasn't oblivious af.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've been following the fic since around the start (i don't know why you would), i think you can actually see where I stopped caring about deadlines. I used to make promises like "oh dw, once every two days" but now, no. now you shall get an update whenever the god of procrastination decides to relinquish their grasp on me ever so slightly.
> 
> I've legit had this chapter planned for over a month I just stopped halfway through writing the last chapter cause I procrastinated and even ended up looking up a youtube video of how crosswalks are in South Korea, smh.
> 
> I'd like to say I'm sincerely sorry for all the delays with the last few, but we all know it will happen again.

* * *

^ Basically what I know everyone feels at the amount of time it's taken me to update.

* * *

Jungkook stared down at the smoothed out mess of a receipt in his hand with a small, almost amused smile, scoffing lightly as he scrunched the already crumpled scrap of paper into a small ball and offhandedly threw it across the room to the waste bin in the corner of the kitchen.

Jungkook stared down at the smoothed out mess of a receipt in his hand with a small, almost amused smile, scoffing lightly as he scrunched the already crumpled scrap of paper into a small ball and offhandedly threw it across the room to the waste bin in the corner of the kitchen. As he searched through the cupboards for breakfast, Jungkook found himself thinking back to the night before with a mixture of happy recollection and concern.

He really should have gotten up earlier to speak to Tae before he left.

He felt the dull gnaw of guilt for a few moments before shaking it off and focusing on something else.

It had been nice to see Jaehyun, however awkward he only _now_ realised it had been between him and Taehyung. It wasn’t really Jaehyun’s fault, all things considered. He had only been trying to be polite in the beginning and had barely shown any attitude even when Taehyung had unnecessarily arced up. He was sure Taehyung only needed to get to know Jaehyun better.

Maybe he should talk to Taehyung about being more polite towards his friends.

Jungkook yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, lazily stretching. He walked towards the poky laundry, walking towards the dryer for a clean shirt. Instead, he found Taehyung’s slightly crumpled jacket from the night before. He groaned and glared at the tailored piece of clothing for ruining his plans of doing nothing today. Now he had to return it.

***

Jungkook had almost shown up to the apartment in sweatpants, but out of self-respect, he managed to change into a pair of ripped jeans and a loose hoodie, while still in his half-awake state.

While he wasn’t stopped at the door to the building, he still had to use a keycard to access the elevator, which of course, he had been given a spare by Jimin months ago.

Jungkook took the elevator all the way up to the second-highest floor, tapping his foot lightly and stifling a yawn all the way. He walked a little way down the hall to Taehyung’s door, barely even slowing before he reached forward to turn the handle.

The door didn’t open. Jungkook frowned as he stumbled a little in surprise and stopped momentum. He tried the handle again but to no avail. The door was never locked. He knocked and waited for several minutes, before knocking again. There was nothing. Jungkook opened his phone and sent a quick text to Taehyung, letting him know he’d drop it off at Jimin’s.

But when he knocked on Jimin’s door, there was no response either. This wasn’t unusual. Out of the seven of them, Jimin always seemed to be the busiest with work and was out the most. But what did make it unusual to Jungkook was the fact that neither he nor Jimin was meant to be working today. Staying home while the office was supposedly being “renovated” was more or less two free weeks of paid leave for both of them. Of course, that didn’t mean that Jimin would be home, but Jungkook knew that Jimin tended to crash and hibernate on almost every day he got off, which is why him not being home struck a chord of discomfort in his chest.

Jungkook didn’t even bother trying Yoongi’s door, since even if he was inside, he’d likely not hear him. Instead, he decided to make one last-ditch attempt to return Taehyung’s jacket and went down a floor to Namjoon’s, who Jungkook knew worked mostly from his laptop.

Nothing. Zip. Nada. Zilch.

Jungkook quickly tried the other two doors to be sure before standing back with a frown. No one was home. No one at all.

Immediately, Jungkook’s paranoid mind whirred to action, spouting nonsense like: _‘maybe they all went to some cool party without me’_ or, _‘maybe they’re dead’_. He shut that down quickly, though, since it was fucking ridiculous.

Jungkook was either an overthinker or just didn’t think at all, to be honest. He read too far into things that barely had any substance while he also glossed over big glaring signs in his face like they weren’t even there. This was one of the times he tried to find meaning in something that really _should_ have been simple. His friends were out. Working or otherwise, they weren’t home, and that was all there was to it.

Jungkook shrugged and turned, throwing the jacket over his shoulder as he walked back to the empty elevator. He’d just go home and let Tae know that he had his jacket for the time being.

Jungkook failed to fight off yet another yawn.

Maybe he’d stop for a coffee on his way back.

***

Jaehyun was on the phone when he saw Jungkook walking down the street towards him. With one hand holding the phone to his ear and the other stirring a cup, he locked eyes with Jungkook and gave him an awkward look as he spoke quickly into the phone in a hushed voice before ending the call he was on.

Jungkook sat down at the kiosk with a sunny smile. Jaehyun barely returned it, however, sliding his coffee towards him with a little too much force, almost spilling the liquid over the rim of the cup. He seemed preoccupied with his own thoughts as he prepared coffee for other customers with a little less ease than usual, face slightly grim. When the rush had passed, he pulled up a stool on the opposite side of the counter, across from Jungkook. He balanced his chin on his hand like normal, yet he seemed a little more rigid. He stared at Jungkook's coffee, seeming to zone out a little before Jungkook pulled him back in.

  
"You ok?" Jungkook slid his coffee away from Jaehyun's eyes.

"Mhm." Jaehyun looked up and stared at him for a few moments before turning and opening one of the refrigerators. He took out what a large piece of what seemed like chocolate cake and half-threw it towards Jungkook. "Here, take it. I saved it for you." He gave him a small smile.

"What's this for?" Jungkook raised a brow at Jaehyun, who was staring at Jungkook's untouched coffee once again.

"Just think of it as... my thank you for putting up with me every time you came here for coffee."

"Wait, this isn't a goodbye, is it? Because nobody makes my coffee as well as you-

Jaehyun laughed a little "No, no, this isn't a goodbye... or maybe it is..." Jaehyun looked up to see Jungkook fixing him with a confused and concerned stare, prompting him to continue. "Being a Barista is only one of my part-time jobs." He fiddled with a stack of paper cups to the side. "I'm thinking of maybe taking up an offer to go full-time on one of my higher paying jobs..."

"What? This might be my last coffee?" Jungkook pouted, sliding his cup back closer to him before taking a large sip. "Better enjoy it then."

  
Jaehyun seemed uncomfortable simply watching Jungkook drink the coffee, turning his head away and zoning out.

  
"Hold on!" Jaehyun snapped his head back, looking slightly alarmed before Jungkook pulled his phone out. "I can't believe we haven't done this yet-" He unlocked it and placed it on the table in front of Jaehyun. "Here, put your number in."

  
Jaehyun's eyes widened a fraction and he looked taken aback like it was shocking for Jungkook to want him to do such a thing.

  
"This way we can still hang out- only if you still want to, of course." Jungkook wasn’t going to deny that it was unusual for him to be on such close terms with the man who simply made his coffee every other day.

  
Jaehyun picked up the phone slowly and typed his number in with shaking hands that were barely noticeable. He quickly passed it back to Jungkook's side of the counter, almost dropping it, as if it burned him to touch it. He smiled a little at Jungkook and watched him drain the rest of the coffee in his cup.

Jungkook quickly sent a text to Jaehyun to make sure the number was right, thankful that now he’d at least have _one_ friend who would answer his texts today, before he packed the slice of cake into the laptop bag he had brought with him, careful not to squash it.

  
"See you, Jaehyun." he stood and waved as he walked down the street at a fast pace.

"See you soon." Jaehyun half-heartedly mumbled, following Jungkook with a look that almost looked guilty as he opened his phone and texted a thumbs up to the second contact on the list.

***

The amount of time it usually took Jungkook to walk from the coffee kiosk to where he parked his car typically ranged between 10-15 minutes.

Now, Jungkook had only made it to the 7-minute mark.

This was in no way Jungkook’s fault. Fuck, he wasn’t even cohesive after those seven minutes.

After about 5 minutes, the usual buzz his coffee gave him in the morning was completely gone, and after another 30 seconds or so, he began to feel increasingly tired, a slow, dull ache thumping in his head.

At first, Jungkook had pegged it as being abnormally tired from going out for dinner the night before and had easily dismissed it. After a minute, however, he began to think that there was something wrong.

He stopped for a few moments in the arch of a doorway, his breathing a little slow.

When he started moving again, a bout of dizziness crashed into him like a wave, only intensifying the throb in his head.

Maybe he needed to sit down, or maybe he needed water. Either way, there was both in his car, so Jungkook only continued to walk down the street with s slightly dampened sort of determination.

Jungkook could feel a cold sweat and a muffled ringing in his ears that only grew in volume with every step he took.

Obviously, Jungkook was out of it, his senses and perception even more so. In the event that Jungkook was completely fine, he still wouldn’t have noticed the two men who had fallen in step behind him, so it’s quite imaginable how easy it would have been now.

Jungkook barely remembered what followed, but what he could remember clearly was the overwhelming sense of deja vu he got when the two pairs of strong arms, one more gentle than the other, had tightly and firmly turned and took him down an alleyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this is another good spot to reiterate that this is only a draft for a more refined version of this fic. It'll change a lot but it'll be a lot better too. I'll be keeping the draft and the final fic separate.


	14. Ah so there’s an issue

Hi so this is really just a little update with what’s happening Rn lol.

I do realise I take a long time to update my mediocre drafts for this fic but the next few chapters are going to be after a bit of a wait since the writing program I’ve been using is shutting down and that means I need to transfer over all of my plans and drafts for all my chapters and other fics over to something new before I can keep writing, which is proving to be difficult since I have no storage space on my laptop. 

Ive also just started coursework for school that’s a year or so ahead of me and am being put in advanced classes, so I’m going to be focusing on that a little more.

the main reason I was always took forever with updating is my procrastination but hopefully I can get back on track 

I am in no way giving up on the fic and there will be updates but I still feel the need to remind people that these are drafts and they’re not great by my standards and will all eventually be rewritten. When I do rewrite them, I’ll make it a separate fic under the same name but I’ll make sure it’s known that this is the old version.

I’ll sort this all out soon and then I’ll blast out several chapters as compensation lol.

Idk how to end this so brb


	16. It has begun

Hello hello people.

I've reached the point in my year where I have now got the most free time on my hands and I'm writing this at 3 am because I suddenly remembered that this existed. since I've got like 6 weeks of nothing, I have decided to begin the large overhaul/rewrite/good (maybe not perfect) copy. I'll be keeping most things from the original fic but I'm actually going to do this better and yeah. I'll probably leave this version up for a while after I've finished the new one or move it to somewhere else but yeah so that's the news. It'll still be a wait but there will be a lot more and (hopefully) better.

Anyway, I hope on the new version I can get some feedback and suggestions since I honestly still don't know what I'm doing lol.

see you soooon.


	17. Chapter 17

so hey I uploaded the first chapter of the rewrite, and the start is basically the same since it was all exposition and I didn't feel it necessary to make fancy, but anything I keep in the future will all be rewritten and improved!

thx for reading this one btw.

If you actually want to read the rewrite, feel free to just find it through my profile or just search it, since it has the same name but yea thanks for reading this far and I hope the rewrite goes well lol.


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